Finding Balance
by Voodoo-People
Summary: UPDATED Spread your legs, at the weird glances Kai was getting, he rolled his eyes. Typical teenagers.
1. Different opinions

**Summary:** For the Bladebreakers, Beyblading was the one and only sport in the world. Well, they might be right, but what about other sports? How do they cope with their success? Meet Seiko Tachibana, a strong-minded and (apparently) uncaring girl who wishes never to be related with Beyblade, and captain of the national Japanese volleyball team. In which our favourite (or maybe not) bladers learn about a Ronin, heirlooms, struggling, and… someone who likes to play the harmonica and another whose catchphrase is: "take a look around…"

Chapter 1 – Different opinions

"WE'RE HERE!"

"Geez, Tyson, we already know that. You don't need to make it an echo in our ears." complained Hilary, who was standing right beside him, massaging her hurt ear. Tyson, however, was too excited to even listen to the girl. He was staring in awe and happiness at the Bey Stadium, his eyes twinkling.

The Bladebreakers stood right behind him, Kenny holding his precious laptop close to his chest with a smile, Hilary still complaining about how loud he was, Max was laughing with the same joy as Tyson, although he didn't show it the same way as him. Rey was standing close behind with a soft smirk on his lips. Beside him, a bit apart from the group, stood Kai, arms crossed, looking blankly at the huge building in front of them.

It was the Beyblading Association's 30th birthday and the board decided to make an extra tournament to celebrate it, for the joy of bladers and fans. The Tokyo Bey Stadium, where the Association had its headquarters, was a huge building next to a sports centre in the middle of the town. The place was mingling with people, fans, pros, and the casual jogger who used the round stadium to determine laps.

"I'm going to kick their asses!" exclaimed Tyson in his energetic spree, throwing his fist in the air with pride and joy.

"This is pathetic." commented a voice not very far from them. "_Look at me! I'm going to kick their asses with my bad twister thingy! I'll call my teddy bear and make you cry like a baby!" _

Tyson was outraged. Who dared to speak like that about Beyblading? Not only it was the most amazing game ever, it implied a whole culture around it! Some people even thought that the Bit Beasts were divine spirits!

He and the other beybladers looked around to search for the source of the voice, and possibly face them.

"Honestly. This game is for babies." the same voice sneered, while another one chuckled softly.

They all looked at their left and took notice of who was speaking. And to look at their faces, they had to look up, and up, and up…

"Wow." muttered Max in an astonished voice. "They're even taller than Kai."

Indeed, the two girls were very tall. They both were wearing the same red and white uniform, and had blue bags lying in front of their feet. One of them had black thick hair that covered her head like black silk, and her arms were crossed in front of her. She was eyeing with violet eyes the large building with despise.

"I really don't see what the big deal about blading is." she continued in a more serious tone, although it was dry and cutting. By her voice, they could tell it had been her taunting all along. "I can do tricks with a yo-yo and I don't make a big fuss about it."

Tyson sputtered. 'Yo-yo'? '_YO-YO'!_

"Hey!" he yelled, stomping angrily to them. The girls peered down surprised with the intromission.

"Listen, you snooty girls." he started unaware that he looked ridiculous between them. The top of his cap barely reached their chests. The girls had sweat drops on their faces. "Beyblading is a great game, and it's not to be taken lightly. It has nothing to do with stupid yo-yo's."

"Apparently this guy doesn't know what sarcasm is." Mumbled the other girl with a light eyebrow arched. This girl was even taller than the other one, if only by an inch or so, and had wavy blonde hair brushing her shoulders.

"Well," drawled the dark-haired one with slight amusement in her eyes, "and who are you to tell us that, midget?"

Tyson growled, annoyed, while the girls had a mischievous gleam in their eyes. The other Bladebreakers were watching the scene not very far away, trying to figure out if they should be angry and surprised by the girls' attitude, or if they should be embarrassed by Tyson's child-like behaviour.

The champion adjusted his cap and put a finger in the air, trying to make his point.

"WELL, _I AM_-"

"-Yama, Kimi. Let's go." another voice interrupted. The amusement in the girls' face was gone, to be replaced with surprise. They turned around to face who was calling them, revealing another girl standing behind them in the same uniform, and holding an equally blue bag over her shoulder. This girl was the shortest of the three. She reached the blonde's shoulders, which meant that she was about the same height as Kai.

"The bus has arrived." she said, her face serious. "Stop bullying around and hurry up. As soon as we reach the hotel we will start practicing." she ordered sternly over her shoulder before walking away and showing a dark-brown braid falling between her shoulder blades.

"We're coming!" the black-haired girl called back. The blonde sighed.

"She's at it again." she commented, closing the lids over her green eyes.

"She always overworks herself in tournaments like this." the brunette answered, hoisting the bag over her shoulder just like the other girl had. "Correction: She _always _overworks herself, period. She definitely needs something to get things out of her head."

The green-eyed girl stared with horror.

"Kim, you do remember what happened when you last tried matchmaking, don't you?" she asked, looking at the other girl, who apparently was named Kimi, like if she had grown another head. Kimi cringed.

"I've given up to that." she said. Yama sighed with relief. "Poor Keichi-kun, I still feel sorry for him. I swear: the moment Seiko gets a boyfriend, I'll throw a party, launch fireworks and pick up the debris all by myself."

"Hey!" yelled Tyson with frustration. He had been trying to interrupt their chatter without success. It seemed that the girls were on another radio frequency and wouldn't tune him in. Finally, they looked down.

"It was nice talking to you, Midget!" Kimi said, smiling like if she had completely forgotten that she had been teasing him a while ago. She turned her back and started walking. Yama tossed a smile and a wave over her shoulder, joining her partner.

"Why don't we get her a hobby?" the blonde asked in a lower tone, returning to the subject about their smaller colleague, Seiko.

"This _is_ her hobby, Ya." Kimi answered. "She's studying in Havana to be who-knows-what. I think she wants to be a lawyer… or is it a teacher? I know it's something ending with an 'er'."

Yama sweat dropped.

"You know, _that_ gives us a lot of options…" she commented, while the other scratched her black head in a sheepish way. They continued walking and talking until they turned a corner.

Tyson and the others just stared at the place where the girls had been moments ago. The blue-haired boy finally woke up from his reverie and grumbled angrily. "Conceited" and "annoying Eiffel Towers" could be heard between his mumbles.

"Well, at least those two were cute." Max said, always trying to look on the bright side. "That blonde one, Yama, was actually very pretty." he grinned.

"Who do you think they were?" Kenny asked him. It was Ray who answered them.

"They were wearing training-suits, so they have to be sports players." the Chinese boy answered.

"It doesn't matter!" Tyson bellowed. "They were annoying stuck-ups. They don't even know what the real deal about Beyblading is. They probably don't even know how to launch a blade."

"Somehow, Tyson, I don't think they would be very upset about that." Hillary commented. The teen sent her a glare.

"Stop whining and let's go." said Kai dryly. He had been silent all this time but had been watching the scene with a frown. "Mr. Dickinson must be waiting." he noted, unfolding his arms and striding forward, not caring if the rest of them followed or not.

The team met Mr. Dickinson right in the main entrance of the Stadium. He saluted them with a friendly smile as usual.

"I've already taken care of your submission and accommodations." he told them with a smile. "That car over there will take you to the hotel. The rooms are booked in my name. Now make sure you rest and have a bit of fun before the tournament." he advised.

"Yes, let's go! I'm starving!" Tyson said, heading for the car in a jog. The others shook their heads with exasperation. It seemed that Tyson had only one thing on his mind besides Beyblading: food.

While they were on their way to the hotel, Hilary read out loud a leaflet that Mr. Dickinson had given her. Aside from the usual mall and conference rooms, it seemed that the hotel had two water pools, one for leisure and other for swimming sports, a sauna, three ("THREE?" asked Tyson, eyeing Kai wearily) exercise rooms, each with a running hurl, lots of equipment and two bey dishes.

"What about the… restaurant_s_?" asked Tyson hopefully, although hesitating in using the plural. Hilary sniggered before answering.

"There are a Grill, a fast-food restaurant, and an Italian in the commercial area of the hotel." she explained. "Not counting with the hotel restaurant in the residential area."

Tyson yelled a "Huzzah!" in happiness. There were tears in his eyes.

"Wow. Mr. Dickinson shouldn't have bothered to let us stay in such an expensive hotel." Max commented, still a bit dazed from all the information.

"Indeed. That sounds like heaven." Ray said, astonished as well.

"Mr. Dickinson said that the Association acquired the rooms by a sponsoring deal." explained Kenny. "So my guess is that he got them for free."

They reached the hotel only an hour later. The hotel had a huge garden surrounding it, clashing with the urban landscape that surrounded it. It was a really tall building, no wonder it held everything the brochure announced.

The team looked around the entrance hall while Tyson, Ray and Kai headed for the reception. Max, Kenny and Hilary sat on some comfy-looking couches on the waiting room. It wasn't long until the yelling started.

"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

It was Tyson's voice, of course, in a raging fit. The three got out of the room and found him almost climbing up the stall with his fists on the air. He would have if it weren't for Rey's hold on his shirt.

"What's happening?" asked Kenny, alarmed. Kai, who was not looking pleased, but stood back with his arms crossed, answered with his deep voice.

"Apparently the Association forgot you were coming." He said, motioning Hilary with his chin. "They say they don't have a room for you."

Hilary's eyebrows shot up. Now that had to be considered a problem. But she could understand the Association's mistake: she had been given permission to go on this tour at the last moment. It probably had something to do it that.

"When were the rooms booked?" she asked the manager. He took a glimpse at some paperwork lying on the counter and checked.

"Two weeks ago." He answered.

"Ah, that explains it." Kenny said. "Hilary only knew for sure that she was coming a week ago. That's why there's no room for her."

"But aren't there any free rooms for her to stay?" asked Ray. He was a bit uptight from grabbing Tyson, who was still squirming under his grasp and trying to approach the receptionist. Said receptionist typed something in the computer, and shook his head.

"Every single room is booked. The hotel is full of people who came to watch the tournaments." He said, still typing.

"TOURNAMENTS? WHAT TOURNAMENTS? THERE'S ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT AND-" bellowed Tyson between squirms.

"-Hey look, it's Midget!" someone said. "What is this ruckus about?"

They all looked at where the voice was coming from. Tyson gasped.

"Oh no." he said. "You again?"


	2. The Leaderless Samurai

**Chapter 2** – The leaderless samurai

"_Oh no," Tyson said. "You again?"_

"Well, you don't need to look so upset about it. You don't even know me." Kimi said bemusedly. She was standing in front of doors that apparently lead to the conference rooms. Behind her, other girls were heading their way while chatting animatedly. One of them, they recognised, was that blonde girl Yama.

"Hey, Kim." called a girl with orange hair. "What's happening? Why aren't you heading for the exit?"

"Rumpus." Kimi answered with a wink over her shoulder.

"You've always been the curious one," commented Yama, coming to stand by the black-haired girl's side.

"Yes, I've been." Kimi replied with pride. She turned to the Bladebreakers. "So, what's up, Midget?" she asked.

"Don't call me MIDGET!" Tyson bellowed and tried to lunge at the girl, only to be stopped by Rey again. "Let me go Rey, I'm allowed to slap her a bit. With that height she shouldn't even be considered a girl!" the champion sputtered.

"Geez, I was only trying to help." Kimi said with her hands up in surrender, even though she didn't look one bit afraid of Tyson's threats.

"What's the meaning of this?" A familiar voice asked. From the crowd of girls behind Kimi, Yama and the orange girl stepped forward the dark-haired girl they had seen near the Beyblade stadium. She looked at Kimi with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Don't look at me, Sei." Kimi said, her pale features set in an innocent expression. "That's what I'm trying to find out as well."

The shorter girl turned to look at them, asking a silent question through her curious dark eyes.

Max was the one who spoke.

"There have been problems with the room reservations. Hm…one of us can't get a room." The blonde boy explained, scratching his head and with a tinge on his cheeks. He appeared a bit insecure under the girl's gaze.

Tyson nudged him in the ribs.

"What's up with you, man?" he whispered at the American by the corner of his mouth.

"I'll explain later." The youngster answered back quietly. Tyson didn't understand, but let it pass.

"Which one of you hasn't got a room?" The girl asked, tilting her head to the side. The dark-brown braid lying on her shoulder slid down to settle behind her back. Hilary lifted her hand.

"That would be me." the brunette pointed out apprehensively, the girl named Seiko had her arms crossed and her eyes were slightly narrowed. She didn't know what that stance meant but she was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"What are you planning, Seiko?" Kimi asked her, noticing her colleague pondering a situation.

Seiko only turned at the receptionist. "Are there any other rooms left?" she asked firmly. The man shook his head again.

"I checked in the computer, everything is full of people wanting to see you lot." he said.

Seiko's eyebrows inclined a bit in a frown.

"It seems that there's no other choice." she commented, though it looked more to her than to the others. "Give her a spare key of my room and place a spare bed in it. She'll be staying with me." she said to the man at the reception.

"WHAT?" the people around her reacted.

"But," the orange-haired girl started, approaching Seiko. The bladers noticed that Seiko was slightly taller than her, "you don't even know this girl."

"And she doesn't know me. We're even." Seiko answered. She turned to Hilary. "Unless you think it's better to search for another hotel."

Hilary was definitely hesitant about this. To take her chances and search for another room in another hotel, or to take her chances and share the room with this stranger, staying in the same hotel as the boys?

"Well…" she started.

"She accepts!" Max exclaimed, stepping forward. "Thanks for offering."

"Huh!"

Seiko smirked, and turned to the receptionist.

"Make sure everything is in order then." she ordered him. She was met by an eager nod. "Well, I guess I'll see you soon." She said, looking at the bladers and nodding. She beckoned the rest of the girls. "Let's go."

And like that, they left.

Tyson turned to Max, who was looking at the girls' retreating back.

"Right," he started. "Now spill."

"Yeah, Max, how come I didn't have a say in this subject?" Hilary demanded to know. She was angry and curious at Max at the same time. The American finally turned to face the rest of his team.

"That's a well-known volleyball player in the US," he answered. "Her name is Seiko Tachibana."

"What?" Hilary roared. "So what if she's well-known! I don't know her, she doesn't know me!"

"Like she said, you're even." Max argued with his eyes wide. Everything seemed so simple for him. Too simple, Hilary decided.

"But why didn't you tell us that you knew her?" Ray asked. "You could've told us when we saw them near the Bey Stadium."

Max shrugged. "I didn't know who the other girls were, and apparently Seiko was too far away for me to recognise her. I only know her because she's playing in the Havana VC, a Cuban club that's very well ranked. Her team uses to play with Americans and-"

Max was suddenly interrupted by Tyson's loud laughter.

"Volleyball?" He asked between laughs. "_Volleyball_! And they were talking about Beyblade! P_uu_hlease!" he sneered. "What a stupid sport!"

"Shut up, Tyson," snapped Kai. "Volleyball players or not, we're about to leave Hilary to stay with their captain. We must make sure if this Seiko is trustworthy enough."

"Huh? Just wait a second." Tyson turned to slate-haired boy. "How do you know that she's their captain?"

Kai closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He stood silent.

"That's obvious, Tyson," answered Hilary, looking at the blue-haired boy by the corner of her eye. "You must've been the only one not noticing that Seiko was the leader of that team. She orders around and they follow her without question. Of course she has to be their captain," she then shook her head. "Ah, but who am I kidding? Your brain wouldn't handle that much observation…" the brunette taunted.

"Hey!" protested the Beyblade champion. "I'll let you know that my brain is-"

Meanwhile, Kenny had stepped aside the group and laid his laptop on a nearby table. He turned it on and started typing.

"What are you doing, Chief?" Ray peered over his shoulder.

"If this Seiko Tachibana is as well-known as Max says," Kenny explained, "then there must be some information about her in the Internet. I'm asking Dizzy to make a research about her."

"Oh, joy! I've always wanted to be a detective." commented the laptop sarcastically.

"Please, Dizzy?" asked Hilary, who had tuned out Tyson once she heard Kenny's explanation. "I'm kind of nervous about all of this."

"Oh, alright." the bitbeast surrendered. "Just a wait a moment while I collect the data about her."

"Thanks!" the brunets chorused.

After a while, the laptop finally had the information necessary.

"Alright Chief, here's what I got:" Dizzy announced "Seiko Tachibana is also know as 'Ronin', which means 'Leaderless Samurai'. This nickname was invented by the press because of her sudden appearance at the starter team of the Japanese National Team, with no record about having played in any other team before. Her coach is unknown, and rumour goes that she managed to learn how to play volleyball by herself."

"Now that I didn't know." commented the blond blader, his eyes never leaving the screen which was showing some photographs of Seiko in matches, sometimes holding a prize in her hand with a triumphant smirk. Dizzy continued her explanation.

"Her debut was made at the Asian Tournament in 2001. Although the Japanese team reached only fourth place, Seiko was nominated Best Revelation of that year. She signed a contract with the Havana Club, where she's still playing.

Her initial position was Hitter… ("No idea what that means." said Tyson, only to be shut up by a collective "SHHH!") But two years later the Japanese faced the Russian team in a private, friendly match, where the press wasn't allowed. Since that match, Seiko filled the position of libero."

"I remember that." Max pointed out. "Everybody was awfully trying to find out who won the match. The media were mad about not being able to report such an event. They even tried to sue both teams. They got even more furious when Seiko became a libero with no further explanation."

"Will someone speak English to me?" asked an annoyed Tyson. "Am I the only one who doesn't know what Hitterand Libe_-thingy_ mean? Stop giggling!" he yelled at Hilary, who now had given up hiding her laughter behind her hand and now was howling freely.

"A Hitter is someone who attacks the ball from the side of the field, right?" Rey asked, turning to Kenny. The short kid nodded.

"Sort of," he answered. "An Outside Hitter is the left or right front player that hits a ball with an approach normally coming from the outside of the court. Then there are the Inside Hitters who attack over the middle of the net."

Max nodded. "A libero is a defensive player who wears a different colour jersey and is restricted from serving the ball and attacking the ball. It's a completely different thing from a Hitter."

Tyson's eyebrows shot up.

"So Seiko gave up from being an attacker to be a defender?" he wondered. "Why would she do that?"

"That's what the media and fans have been trying to find out." Dizzy answered from the table. "No one, not even the Russian players made a comment on this subject."

"That's really not important." Kai said. He had been silent all this time, listening to everyone while leaning against the table. "She came out of nowhere to play volleyball. It doesn't look like it was what she always wanted to do. We need to know her motives."

"Why do we need to know that?" asked Max.

"We can figure out what kind of person she is through that." the Russian replied.

Rey nodded. "That makes sense."

"Dizzy?" Kenny turned to the computer.

"There is no direct information about that either. Apparently Miss Ronin here has a healthy relationship with her interviewers." The bitbeast showed them a picture of the brown-haired girl giving the finger to a man with a camera on his hands, probably paparazzi.

"Attitude!" exclaimed Tyson. "I wish I could do that. Too bad Kai scares all the journalists away."

The Russian just growled with his arms crossed, his eyebrows twitching. He suddenly opened his eyes and turned around.

"What is it Kai?" Rey sensed his alertness.

"Well, I wouldn't mind to change places with you." Seiko's voice said from where Kai was looking at. She was looking at Tyson.

"Yes, those journalists are such a pain." Kimi said, standing behind her. The black-haired girl seemed amused. Apparently the Japanese Volleyball team had finished their walk. It seemed that they went to fetch some belongings. They were all very tall, although Yama and Kimi were the tallest of them all, standing over the crowd easily. Some girls held trunks or trolleys, others, like Yama who was standing right beside Seiko, had a satchel on their backs. Seiko just had some books tucked under her arm.

"Is everything in order?" she asked the receptionist. He answered her with another eager nod. The Bladebreakers wondered if he was a volleyball fan.

Seiko nodded, and turned to the team, giving instructions the bladers couldn't hear. She turned around again and faced Hilary.

"Your room will be the 635," she said. "If you want you can go unpack. I'll be out for a couple of hours, but you can make yourself at home."

Hilary nodded, swallowing a knot on her throat. She was still a bit unsure about sharing a room with that girl.

Seiko tossed an "I'll see you later" over her shoulder to her team, while heading for one of the conference rooms. She brushed Kai with her shoulder when she passed by him. The other girls waved and replied and then started talking. Kimi stretched lazily.

"Aaah! A break! I can't believe she actually gave us some time to rest!" She exclaimed. Yama, however, was looking at her captain with a bit of worry in her eyes.

"Yeah…" she muttered. The blonde sighed.

Meanwhile, Kai had looked to the floor to see a white paper lying right next to his feet. He lifted it up, only to shoot his eyebrows up.

"I'm still not sure about this…" Hilary said, looking at Seiko's back.

"I don't think you should worry." Kai said. All of the bladers looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

"What do you mean?" asked Tyson.

Kai didn't answer. He just handed Hilary the small piece of paper that Seiko dropped in the floor. The rest of the Bladebreakers huddled to peer over the brunette's shoulder.

It was a photograph of Seiko. And she wasn't alone. She was sitting in one of the steps of a large staircase from a place that looked like a park. She was reading, with a concentrated frown, but she had a curl on the corner of her lips that hinted a small smile. Behind her, sitting one step higher was a little girl who was braiding the teenager's hair. On the bottom of the staircase was a little boy with a too big blade launcher in his little hand. However, he seemed amused at watching the blade that was spinning in the grass. And amused was an understatement, Hillary decided: the kid was ecstatic.

Both kids had a remarkable resemblance to Seiko. The little girl looked like a mini version of Seiko, although she had light green eyes and sweet features that contrasted with Seiko's stern ones. The other kid, however, had black, unruly hair, with no special features that could hint their resemblance. But people could tell it was there, a similarity that could only be seen if the child and the teenager were standing together.

Hilary flipped the photo and noticed a neat handwriting on the corner of the white, glossy material.

_A quiet moment. Finally we get to photo Sei with her "spikes", as she calls them. They are really happy to see their sister again. _

_March 2003_

"Her brother and sister." Hilary mumbled. She looked up to see Seiko enter one of the conference rooms down the hall.

"Maybe she isn't that bad after all."

* * *

**Author notes**: Kind of a clichéd ending, don't you think? Well, I had to convince Hilary into not running away from Seiko.

Now, you must be wondering if this is a volleyball-centred fic… Don't worry, it's not. Did you notice the big launcher in the kid's hand? Well, it's not his. hint hint nudge nudge Anyways, you'll get to see both of the teams practice and everything, and fakes gasp could it be? I will be pairing Seiko with someone! But that's for me to know, and for you to find out. Muahahah?

Thanks for reading,

Voodoo-People


	3. Sun burnt, nourishment and Russian troub...

**Author notes:**I just wanted to saythank youto the people whoreviewed.Here is the third chapter, the longest until now, and in my opinion, the most pointless. Hope you like it.

I've forgotten to put the disclaimer. Oh well, you know already that I wouldn't be here writing fanfiction if I owned Beyblade, right? But, I DO own Seiko, Kimi, Yama, all the volleyball teams, as well as the other original characters that might cross your path in this fic.

Now, let the story begin...

* * *

**Chapter 3** – Sun burnt, nourishment and Russian troubles comin' right up!

As Hilary let her bag fall on the floor of the suite she was in, she decided to leave the unpacking for later. She was tired from the trip and all the stress she suffered from the mess of the reservations. Hilary would decide with Seiko which bed to get once she came back.

The room was not very big, but it wasn't small either. Far from it, actually. She considered that even with the spare bed placed nearby the window, the room was spacey and comfortable. The furniture was dark and the walls were a pastel green. A small refrigerator flashed with its shiny white surface from one corner. Hilary liked the room: it felt posh. She was glad she had accepted Seiko's invitation,

Hilary grunted once the memory came back to her mind.

"_It seems that there's no other choice. Give her a spare key of my room and place a spare bed in it. She'll be staying with me." she said to the man at the reception. _

Well, "invited" wasn't really the right term.

"_Unless you think it's better to search for another hotel." _

The brunette shivered unconsciously when she remembered the tall girl's expression. Her eyes had narrowed ever so lightly, not in an angry way but to scrutinize her group carefully. She had felt naked in front of her. Naked and insecure.

"_Unless you think it's better to search for another hotel." _

That had confused Hilary. Not the words, they were crystal clear and Hilary still had many years to age until she finally stopped hearing well.

It was the tone of her voice.

It looked like Seiko had given her a challenge. That the volleyball captain did that on purpose to test Hilary's strength of mind and quickness of decision.

But Max hadn't given her the chance to reply and face said challenge. Sometimes she couldn't understand that boy, Hilary reasoned. He was a nice boy, his laid-back, optimistic manner an oasis in the desert that was Tyson's enthusiastic-to-the-point-of-annoying stance and Kai's austerity, but still, everything seemed too simple for him. She couldn't blame him, really, for trying to help her, but she could have taken care of the matter.

«At least I think so…» she thought.

The brunette was now standing by the window watching the skyscrapers, their windows getting her attention as the owner of the respective apartment or office switched on or off the lights. She shook her head. She must be going paranoid and nonsense in her mind was most definitely one of the symptoms. Seiko just asked her to share her bedroom just to look good in front of everyone, she was sure of it.

But then again…

«There was no record about what she did before volleyball, and she gives no interviews either. The media sure must hate her. She doesn't seem to care about them, either. So does she really care about what we would think of her? »

Hilary slid a hand in her pocket and took of the photograph Seiko had dropped on the floor. The dark girl seemed peaceful there; she had an expression on her face Hilary doubted she would ever hold in her presence. And the children look so happy around her…

Hilary's ruby eyes moved to the landscape in front of her again. It was getting dark.

* * *

"LET IT RIP!"

The blade fell on the floor, spinning and whirling wildly as it moved between the obstacles with careful precision. Once it reached the end, it smashed against a large punching bag with the Hotel name stitched in it. The blade ripped it up to pieces, making the sand fall on the gymnasium's floor and some dust spread in the air with a "thump!"

The hotel owners would be furious when they found out the mess. And they would demand him to pay for it.

Huh. Nothing he wouldn't be able to pay, Kai Hiwatari thought. Besides, it had its use for his practice.

His current of thought was interrupted by a light being switched off on the adjacent room, another gymnasium, only separated by a one-way glass from where Kai was in. He could see the person that entered the room, but said person couldn't see he was there.

Seiko Tachibana had just entered, wearing a sporty outfit composed by black pants and a red t-shirt. She was rolling up the short sleeves of the red garment up to her shoulder, showing lean but strong arms the sport she played provided. Her hair was caught in the braid he had seen her wearing before. The Russian blader glanced at the clock hanging in the wall: 7:00 am. What the hell was she doing there at that hour?

His answer became obvious once she started stretching and then running a few laps around the large sports centre. So she was going to practice a bit on her own, eh?

Kai got curious. Volleyball, after all, was something completely different from Beyblading, and he wanted to know exactly how much. In could have played it in his school, but the fact that he could become easily dependent on the performance of the other players never appealed to him. He silently summoned Dranzer and the blade flew to his hand. Maybe he'll just use the one-way glass and have a small break from his practice…

* * *

Hilary woke up with the sun on her eyes. She grumbled: she had slept terribly and her face and back ached for some unknown reason. The skin on her face was stinging a bit from the sun exposure.

The brunette yawned and rolled over on her bed to take a look at the small alarm clock on the bedside table…

… Just to fall on the floor with a yelp and a loud "thud!"

"Oww…" The girl mewled, rubbing her backside and looking around. She sighed. Figures: she wasn't in her bedroom like she thought she was. There was no bedside table or alarm clock. There was a grey blanket tangled in her feet and legs.

She slept in the couch placed in the corner of the room while waiting for Seiko the day before. She had been reading but the weariness from the journey took over and she had fallen asleep. Which reminded her: did Seiko return last night?

She glanced at the room and noticed that the bed next to the window had the sheets slightly crumpled. So she came up yesterday, Hilary thought, wondering at what time. By the time Hilary had spent reading, Seiko must've arrived late.

She stood up, untangling the blanket from her feet. She approached the door that lead to the bathroom and listened carefully: no sound. The brunette slowly pushed the door. Seiko wasn't there. She wasn't in the room.

"Well, I guess she's one of those people who don't like being in hotel rooms." The girl shrugged and started changing. By the time she finished, it was 9 o'clock in the morning. She decided to get breakfast.

She met the boys in the lobby.

"Hey Hilary!" Greeted Kenny.

"Hey guys." she replied with a tired smile. Rei took notice.

"Woa. Bad night with Seiko?" He asked her, concerned. Hilary shook her head.

"Not at all. I haven't seen her in the room. She must've arrived when I was already asleep, and she had already left when I woke up."

"Then why are you so pink in one side of the face?" Asked Tyson between chuckles.

"What?" Hilary touched her cheek. She remembered the slight stinging on her face when she woke up with the sun on her face. "Oh no. I got sun burnt."

Tyson started laughing like a maniac, making Hilary blush. That turned the already pink side of her face even more pink. Result: Tyson laughed even more.

"WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?" She shouted angrily. Tyson was grabbing his stomach.

"Oww… hahahah. Stop it… Too funny…my stomach hurts…Heheheh." He still had the strength to chuckle a bit more.

"That's too bad because I'm not letting you have breakfast with a sore stomach." Kai said, appearing next to the group.

"What? Nononononononono. I'm okay, Kai. Really." Tyson jumped, his pain in the stomach gone. The Russian scoffed.

"Better than any medicine." He muttered. "Let's go."

They entered the restaurant, where they placed a self-service buffet for breakfast. Across the large room, there was the volleyball team all seated in the same table.

"Kim, enough! You had three plates already!" Yama scolded while dragging away a food-filled plate from the black-haired girl sitting beside her. Kimi protested.

"Hey! I'm a growing girl that needs her nou-er…thingy! Geez, Seiko, how do you say that again?" She turned her violet eyes to the girl that was quietly eating a toast.

"Nourishment." she replied flatly, not bothering to look away from the book she was reading.

"That! _Nourishment_!" The tall girl turned to Yama. "How do you think I got this height anyway?"

"You've stopped growing a while ago." said the orange-haired girl sitting across from her with a smirk. "The only places where you can be growing right now are your sides. Don't tell me you haven't watched yourself in the mirror lately, Kim."

Kimi pouted. The girl grinned making the v-sign with her fingers.

"That was mean Chikako." She whined. Yama took pity of her and pushed the plate again to Kimi's reach. But Kimi rejected it sticking her tongue out. The other girls laughed.

Seiko stood up and looked around at her team.

"Well, let's go team. We're having practice before the welcoming ceremony." She said. The other girls started standing up. Seiko met Chikako, and glanced at the orange girl with concern. "How's your wrist?" she asked her.

Chikako flicked a bandaged wrist slowly.

"It's healing," she winced, "but it's taking too long. I wanted so much to play in this tournament…" The smaller girl replied with a sigh. "What if Shizuka goes down with the pressure? She's new to the team and she doesn't seem very confident."

Seiko placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Shizuka is the best Japanese setter after you. We'll manage." The captain replied, her face serious. "Right now you concentrate on healing." That was not a request.

Chikako nodded with a soft smile.

"We'll win this tournament." She said reassuringly. "We all know that this is the one, Sei."

Seiko looked sharply at the girl, a bit taken aback by the blatant trustfulness exposed before her. Chikako looked back with a cheeky grin.

"Japan never won first place in this kind of tournament." the dark girl replied, her fist clenching and a muscle in her jaw tightening. Chikako's kind features were filled with hope.

"I know you'll take us to victory." She said. "We'll win it and for the first time a libero will get the MVP award."

Seiko's eyebrows shot up.

"Chikako…" she mumbled.

"Well, we will just have to see that, won't we?" Someone with a deep accent replied coldly.

The Bladebreakers, who had watched the girls' team (and even laughed shyly at Kimi's appetite; well, Tyson maybe didn't.) turned to look at the source of the voice.

A girl leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed in front of her chest was looking at the volleyball players with a smirk in her face. She had white hair and narrow ice-blue eyes. She was wearing a white training-suit with red and blue stripes in her sleeves.

"Erika!" Yama had come to stay behind Seiko and Chikako. Kimi and the rest of the girls were close behind as well.

"Just what are you doing here?" The black-haired girl asked, her fists clenching and her violet eyes flaring.

Erika chuckled, closing her eyes briefly.

"Why, I just wanted to take a look at my…"she paused, considering, "…opponents. How are you all doing this morning?"

"I've known you for time enough to know that it's not your style to make friendly visits to your opponents, Erika." Chikako said with a low voice. The shortest girl seemed very serious when facing the girl. "What did you came here to do?"

"Ah, Chikako. How's your wrist, darling? I hope I hadn't damaged it too much…" she smirked. "Yet."

"So it was _you_ who injured her?" Kimi lunged forward in a fitting rage, but Yama placed a firm arm in front of her. Erika just smirked, straightening her back. She couldn't look more prideful even if she wanted to.

"In the last of our team practices, she insisted so much to try and defend my newest attack, I had to do it. Stubborn girl wouldn't take no for an answer." The blue-eyed girl shrugged nonchalantly. "I was hoping to wait for something special." She glared purposely at Seiko, making the whole team gather closer around their captain. The captain had been staring at the foreigner with narrowed eyes until that moment. The dark girl's jaw muscle tightened, but she remained quiet.

"Newest attack?" A girl about the height of Seiko with dark purple hair asked. She turned to look at Chikako. "Chi, is this right?"

The orange-haired girl sighed and nodded.

"I was waiting for the right moment to tell you all." She looked at Seiko by the corner of her eye with a bit of apprehension.

"Come on, Chikako. Tell them what it's the greatest novelty in the Russian Volleyball League."

Kai's eyes snapped open. _Russian?_

Chikako closed her eyes, not wanting to face her captain.

"Until now, it has been deemed as indefensible." Chikako said. Seiko's eyes opened wide, but put a hand on the setter's shoulder understandingly. The captain finally stepped forward.

"Nothing is indefensible." Seiko said. "If you came here to challenge me, Erika, I accept it."

Chikako turned to look sharply at Seiko with a fearful expression.

"No, captain! That's what she wants!" The shorter girl cried out.

The Russian girl looked at her, eyebrows raised in mock concern.

"You should start listening to your team mates, Tachibana. It might do you some good." She scolded half-heartedly. "I'll have you know that I'm the one holding the record of 98 successful attack outcomes."

The dark-brown-haired girl strode towards the white-haired one. Seiko had to look up to meet Erika's eyes, but she didn't seem intimidated at all.

"Every record exists to be broken, Ivanova." She replied, and then walked past her. "Enough relaxation. Let's go." She threw over her shoulder to her team mates, who followed after her quickly, sending glares at the Russian player. Erika just glared back with a sneer in her lips.

"This is going to be interesting." The white-haired girl muttered loud enough for everyone to hear once the Japanese volleyball team left. Erika turned around, and left as well.

"Did you just… see that?" asked Kenny a bit dumbstruck by the scene in front of his eyes.

"Yeah…" Rei replied. He turned to Max. "Do you know her?" he asked.

Max shook his head sheepishly.

"I don't know her. The only thing I gathered from her was that she belonged to the Russian team." he answered.

"Well, thank you, Captain Obvious." Dizzy replied. Kenny had placed the laptop in front of him like if she was a normal person eating her breakfast.

Max ignored the bit beast's comment and turned at Kai. "She was Russian. Have ever heard of her?"

Kai closed his eyes with his arms crossed.

"I haven't. But I can assume that she might have to do with Seiko's placement as a libero."

"Muh?" Tyson asked after swallowing a mouthful of pancakes. "Why?"

The captain turned to look at the navy-haired boy. "That Ivanova girl seemed extremely focused on Tachibana. And she belongs to the last team Tachibana played against as an attacker. "

Rei looked sharply at the slate-haired teen. "So she knows what happened. And she seemed to know that injured girl, Chikako, too."

"My guess is that she plays in Erika's team in the Russian League. She did mention being together at practices." Kenny reckoned, glancing at the door where the girls had disappeared.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you're a bunch of gossiping hens." Hilary commented, earning a collective death glare from the Bladebreakers. "I said I know better!" She defended sheepishly.

Kai stood up. "Yes, enough is enough. We're not going to interfere in their affairs. It isn't worth it." He said, although it seemed to him that his own voice lacked a bit of truthfulness. He shook that observation away and stuffed it in the back of his head. He looked at his team mates and tilted his chin up. "Let's go. We have practice to do." He ordered and walked away.

Kenny, Rei and Max stood up to follow their captain while Tyson tried to put some extra food in his pockets. "Tyson, leave that food alone. You ate enough already!" she grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him away from the table.

Tyson whined, looking wistfully at the food left in the buffet. "But I need my nourishment!"

Hilary suddenly had the strange feeling that they would be meddling into the volleyball team's affairs a lot more than she thought.

* * *

"Watch that backwards set, Shizuka!"

"Up! Come on!"

"Good spike Akako!"

"The Roof! The Roof! The Roof is on fire! Way to go, Yama and Kimi!"

"The team is very motivated today." Kozue Ishikawa, the Japanese coach commented to Seiko, who was standing in the sidelines with her. The woman took in her appearance. She seemed restless today, she could tell by the libero's stance. Her dark eyes were set in the court in front of her, the tanned skin around them stretching ever so lightly to narrow them; her lips formed a thin, grim line. A muscle in her jaw kept contracting, and Kozue knew that Seiko was gritting her teeth. Her hands were firmly holding her crossed arms in a vicious grip, the girl's fingers creasing the black polo shirt of her uniform.

Although certain that she was feeling her gaze in her, Seiko didn't turn to look at her coach. Kozue couldn't tell what the teen was feeling right now, but she had the feeling that something was wrong. She had just arrived from her trip, only to find her team already practicing, led by the team captain who was, like that moment, watching from the sidelines. Once she had approached the girl, Kozue had felt tension and heat coming from her form. She had been afraid that she was angry with the team. As a libero, Seiko's practices were done solo, only to join the team in practice games or in defence exercises. This separation between the dark-haired girl and the rest of the team could build a high wall between the libero and the rest of the players, since training was very important for bonding. It was a common fact in volleyball teams. Kozue had feared that the transition from attacker to libero would affect the team's relationship with Seiko and even threaten the small dash under Seiko's jersey number signalling her captaincy. However, Seiko's tie with the rest of the girls had become even stronger, going against all odds and all assumptions prepared by the media, who would be oh-so-very-happy with the announcement of the girl's downfall.

It was funny how people were drawn to Seiko. If you didn't love her, you'd hate her. There was no record of someone standing in between. A leader. Seiko was a leader, although she didn't seem to notice that. Her attitude could be misinterpreted as selfish and self-centred, given that Seiko never seemed to care for anything but to use the sport as a mean to her goals.

Yes, once Seiko might have been that, using her raw talent and fierce determination to win a scholarship in Japan's most prestigious secondary school. But that had changed with the years, her mind was no longer one-sided, and her technique had been polished like an expert would do a diamond.

"Alright Kin!"

"We ran into Erika Ivanova today." Seiko's voice rumoured over the enthusiastic yells coming from the court. If Kozue wasn't paying attention to the girl standing next to her she wouldn't be able to notice that Seiko had spoken, for her expression hadn't changed nor her position. It took a while until the alleged words sunk in. The woman's brown brows lifted up. Erika? Erika Ivanova?

That meant trouble.

"She has a new attack." Seiko continued, her eyes following a volleyball going up in the air, making them reflect the light of the gymnasium with a violet gleam, only to follow it down and turn dark again. "She was the one who injured Chikako."

Kozue turned to look at the orange-haired girl riding the pine pony placed by the opposite wall, next to the door. The setter was looking at her colleagues with a longing glint in her sweet amber eyes, one arm propped over her knee holding her head and her injured arm resting on her legs.

Seiko finally turned to look at her coach by the corner of her eye. "You don't seem very surprised about it." she stated stonily. The woman nodded.

"I've gotten the news right after I called you all. Sprained wrist, two weeks of rest." She faced the libero's accusing expression. "I didn't tell you before because I'd reckoned Chikako would want to do it herself."

Seiko nodded, understanding, her gaze going to the setter sitting across the gym. Her tone was calm but strict. "That still doesn't explain why you let her come to the tournament. You know this is torture to her, to be watching outside the court and not being able to play."

"She was the one who asked me." Kozue mumbled in a way of apologising. If the press ever found out that she had to explain her actions to a player... it would be scandalous. Still, she wasn't regretting it. Seiko was the most responsible person in the team, and she could manage on her own without her. She wasn't named the 'leaderless samurai' for nothing, she reckoned. She had no influence to rule over her. In the beginning Kozue thought she was an insolent little (little? yeah right…) girl with no respect for her authority. It had been a pleasant surprise when she found out that it would be more beneficial for the team if they worked together like partners rather than having a stern coach/player relationship. No, Seiko hadn't a superior; she just wouldn't let it. Instead, she had partners and, Kozue hoped it was the case, friends.

The dark-haired captain stuffed her hands in her pockets to nod again. She opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the sound of crashing glass.

* * *

**Author Notes**: Heh. A cliffhanger. Just trust me, don't worry about it. Hope you liked the story.

**Next chapter:** Maximum Speed only allowed Trice: A speed contest andKai gets angry, very angry with someone.


	4. Maximum speed only allowed thrice

"_She was the one who asked me." Kozue mumbled in a way of apologising. (…)_

_The dark-haired captain stuffed her hands in her pockets to nod again. She opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the sound of crashing glass. _

**Chapter 4** - Maximum speed only allowed thrice

"Great, Tyson! Now look at the mess you made!" The yell came from the adjacent exercise room. The volleyball players and coach stopped their actions to figure out what happened, a served ball completely forgotten in mid-flight, hitting on the ground by the feet of one of the players. All stared at the scattered glass over the floor, fright expressed in some faces, surprise in others. Kozue glanced at the girl by her side: Seiko had an irritated frown on her face, the only hint of questioning etched in a single arched eyebrow. _Typical Seiko_, Kozue thought. She was annoyed by the interruption rather than frightened by the ruckus.

"Well! If you shut that gob of yours while I'm in mid-practice, maybe I won't lose focus anymore!" Another voice replied with the same angry tone.

Kozue turned to the source of the yelling. Apparently a group of beybladers were practicing at the small gym. A navy-haired boy was yelling at a brown-haired girl, who was snipping back. Kozue's eyebrows shot up; weren't they feisty little things…

One of the members of the group, a blond boy with freckles on his face, took notice of her and lifted a hand.

"Oh. Sorry about the inconvenience," he replied with an embarrassed grin. "Tyson's blade got out of control here."

Kozue gazed at the glass lying on the floor, some mirrored splinters glinting on the dark floor like stars in night sky. They didn't reach the court, the mess stopping right next to the volleyball field. In the middle of the glass, a white blade rested motionless.

Rei nudged Max with his elbow, his gaze not leaving the lavender-haired woman standing next to Seiko. He frowned, why wasn't Seiko practicing like the rest of the team? "Know her?" He asked quietly, tilting his chin towards the woman. The American nodded.

"Kozue Ishikawa. Coach," the boy replied curtly. Rei nodded in understanding.

"Whatever," Seiko finally spoke, an edge on her voice that clearly showed she wasn't happy about that interruption. She looked around her with a scowl on her lips, looking at the glass sprinkled on the floor and giving Tyson's blade a fierce glare like if it was its entire fault. Ironically, the blade winked mischievously under the gym's lights, as if it sensed Seiko's revulsion. Seiko's eyes narrowed even more and sheturned to face the Bladebreakers who flinched at the expression she was wearing.

"I trust you'll clean up this mess," she said, cold ice seeping through her voice.

Tyson gulped. "Hm… er… Sure. We made it, we clean it… heh," he said, backing a few steps. It seemed to him that the sentence didn't end there. That it had an 'or else' etched in it. By the look on the captain's eyes, he definitely didn't want to know what the unsaid 'else' was.

Hilary just stared at the girl in shock and fear-inspired awe. She had known all along that Seiko could be threatening like that; her gut had told her that since the beginning. And right when she was starting to believe she was wrong…

"I'll help!" Another voice chirped. Bladers and volleyball players looked at the source. Chikako, who had stood in fright when she heard the crash, approached the coach and captain, minding her step not to step into a glass and ruin the sole of her game sneakers. When she reached them, the orange-haired girl smiled enthusiastically at her team and the blader's. "I'll help you clean up," she volunteered.

Seiko turned to look sharply at the girl, alarm and indignation in her tanned face. "No way!" She refused.

"Why the hell not?" Chikako asked, not bothering to hold her tongue in front of Kozue – after all, the woman was used to that: she had listened to a lot of cuss words, speciallyin the middle of matches. Stress and thirst for winning did that to people, the coach reckoned.

Seiko didn't answer, and Chikako knew why. She didn't have a good reason for her not to help. She just didn't _want_ her to. When the libero's eyes flicked briefly to her hand, hanging by her side, the shorter girl foresaw what she was going to say. She interfered on time.

Chikako lifted her bandaged arm and flicked her wrist in front of the captain's face.

"The glass might have not invaded the court, but it barely reaches it. It will be impossible for us to practice the serves in that side of the field if we don't clean it up," she said contemplatively. The others just watched the Setter expressing her opinion.

A victorious gleam entered her amber eyes as she reached the peak. "Besides, you know I can't bear watching you play without being able to enter the pitch. It's the least I can do with a sprained wrist to help you guys."

"But-" the Ronin started. Chikako interrupted her once more with a chuckle of her tongue. Seiko scowled.

"Don't go saying that I'm in no condition to do it, because I am," the Setter scolded. She opened her eyes to meet Seiko's. "And you know that."

Seiko sighed; her shoulders slumped ever so lightly, looking at everything around her except Chikako with frustration as she found herself in a losing battle. When she finally faced her team-mate, her eyes were still slightly narrowed, but this time they held half-hearted scorn and something that kept peeking under their usual sternness. Hillary squinted and saw the same fondness that was present in a certain picture lying on the table of their hotel room. It was barely visible, but Hillary, who had observed the picture several times with curiosity, could tell it was there.

"Should have been a lawyer," the captain muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Can't keep yourself still for a moment, can you?" she sneered. But hervoice lacked conviction. The setter grinned.

"No, I can't," she replied merrily, making the victory sign with her fingers. "That's why I'm the World's no. 1 setter," she turned to the bladers. "Now, who's going to help me get the brooms?"

Tyson nodded brusquely, still a bit afraid of the tall girl and not wanting to face the possible threat. Max jumped eagerly, Hillary also volunteering. Contrasting with Seiko, Hillary thought, this girl was much more relaxed and carefree than the captain. Seiko reminded her of a certain person, Hillary thought as she glanced at Kai, who was leaning against the wall like he didn't care about what was happening around him.

She felt Seiko stiffen, and Hillary doubted she was the only one to feel it as she saw the other bladers turned to watch her. The dark braid flew in her head to rest again in her shoulder as she whirled on her heel and pointed to the pitch.

"Team!" she called, gathering the attention of her team mates, which was an easy task, since mostof them were already expecting Seiko's reaction."New drill. Queens of Defence. Shizuka and Amaya as fixed setters. Only deep set attacks. I don't want people to spade around, but they can spike for the kill. It's a defence exercise, not a receiving one."

"Right!" The team chorused and quickly resumed their training, preparing themselves for the drill. Kozue nodded and waited for Seiko to meet her. Then both of them went along to supervise the exercise.

Tyson scratched his head, watching the scene around him. "Did anyone get that?" he asked, thoroughly confused. "Was she speaking another language?"

A soft voice chuckled.

"That's volleyball slang." Chikako explained with a smile. "Right now she wants them to play three-on-three matches."

"Huh?" Kenny intervened. "But you're at least 12 players! What about the spare teams?"

Chikako waved her good hand dismissively.

"That's what I was getting at. The drill is called "Queens of Defence", where the teams play only once at a time. Imagine this: there's team A and team B," she showed with her hands, each finger an imaginary team. "If team A – that would be them over there, since they have to serve and it's impossible in this side of the pitch with this mess." she pointed at three of her colleagues that were placing themselves in the other side of the net, she cleared her throat."As I was saying, if team A wins against team B once, B goes out the court to give place to team C, and if team C loses, it's substituted by team D, and so forth, and so forth…"

"But what if team A loses?" asked Max, who had 'aahed' in understanding while the orange-haired girl taught the rest of the bladers.

"If team A loses, then the winning team replaces it, and A goes to the other side of the court in the end of the line to play against the winning team again."

Rei nodded. "But what about that talking about _spading and spiking for the kill_?" he asked, curiosity in his amber eyes.

"Not spading, just 'spade'," Chikako corrected him. "A spade is an ace serve, and Seiko doesn't want the players to serve with such violence. Have you imagined what would it be like if one of team A's players started acing around? The other teams would just be walking around in a carrousel, losing their chance to practice.Andthe drill would turn ineffective and very, very boring. In other words, Seiko just want us to serve lightly so we can get to the real stuff."

"But what about the killing?" Asked Tyson, who had been watching Seiko's back with a frown. How the hell could she transmit such a complicated exercise with such simple words?

Chikako chuckled again. "You make us sound like assassins."

"Well…" Tyson trailed off, glancing again at the so called Ronin with uncertainty on his face. Chikako shook her head good-naturedly.

"Anyways, you mean the spiking. That's the "real stuff" I was talking about. Seiko might want us to go easy on the serves but she wants us to attack in the most effective way possible. That way she'll make sure that the players don't go lazying in the pitch defending easy attacks. It's the main goal of the whole exercise. That's why the drill is called Queens of Defence."

"So the main objective is to defend the most spikes possible," Kenny concluded. "It's a defence drill."

"Well, thank you captain obvious!" Dizzy buzzed from his arms, earning a glare from the short kid."Ah... I was beginning tothink I was being forgotten." the computer replied. Kenny patted an imaginary head that was the screen.

Chikako nodded after staring a bit at the laptop in the boy's hands. The boy she knew was named Max nudged her rib. "I'll explain later," hetold her.

"Exactly," she said after shaking her head once she recalled the conversation. "Now, let's get those brooms, shall we?"

"I'll go with you too," Rei offered and turned around. "You coming, Kai?"

Silence only met him as an answer as the blue-haired captain started putting obstacles in the floor of the gym, ignoring him. It seemed obvious that he couldn't give a rat's bum about cleaning up, and was determined to resume his training.

"Ka-!" Rei startedcalling.

"-Let him go, Rei," Hilary huffed, annoyed. Trust Kai to be so inconsiderate. "We're more than enough."

Chikako shot her orange eyebrows skyward. "What's up with him?" she asked the brunette as they walked towards the reception.

"Well, that's Kai, just being Kai." Hilary admitted, shrugging her pink-clad shoulders. "He's always like that."

"Yeah, his pose is always like:"G.I. Joe, hut-hut-hut_." _The blader started stomping around with his back straight and waving his arms forward with an overly serious frown. They all started laughing.

"You should try the military, Tyson." Max teased. "It would do you good and you seem to have a knack for it."

Tyson stopped his act and cringed. "That would be horrible! I heard the food there is awful!"

Max sweatdropped. Trust Tyson to bring food to the conversation.

"Anyways, we could say the same about Seiko." Tyson added, looking at the girl towering beside him. Damn it, why did they all have to be so tall? He started to feel inferior around them just because of it. "She looked like a General giving you orders. Hell, even the coach didn't say a thing."

Chikako shrugged, uncounsciously immitating Hilary's movement. "That's Seiko for you and Kozue doesn't mind that at all as long as the training is productive. The captain can be like that sometimes, specially when her work is being interrupted, which was the case. Although lately she has been really edgy because of this tournament," she added as an afterthought. "I think that my injury and Erika's visit today just made things worse. She's about to explode," the setter muttered more to herself than to the people around her.

"Erika was really mean. Is she always like that?" Hilary asked in what she hope was a soothing, understanding way. The volleyball player had guilt written all over her face. Chikako turned to look sharply at the brunette.

"You saw that?" she asked, looking around. Seeing their collective nod, she sighed. "I'm sorry you did. No, she's only like that whenever she's near Seiko. There has always been a serious rivalry between those two, and the funny thing is that they started it rigth in the first time they faced eachother, no words said. It was just like _that_," she looked forward as she clicked her fingers figurating the moment everything triggered. "Erika was actually the one who -how can I call it- _sheltered_ me when I was transferred to the Russian League. We're room-mates and very good friends."

"But… she injured you!" Kenny exclaimed, amazed at the orange-girl's calm. Chikako gave him a lopsided smile.

"That's my fault, and my fault alone," avowed Chikako. "On the last training with the team, I practically begged Erika to let me defend her newest attack," she looked around her. "She made it look like she couldn't care less about it today, but that was just a play for Seiko. Erika was actually the one who took me to the hospital and informed the Association about my injury. I've never seen her so worried about such a feeble thing as a sprained wrist," she smiled. "I'm not angry at her. I should be the one to be angry at."

When they reached the reception and informed the manager about the accident, he wasn't very pleased about it.

"It's the second time you damage something, and you have only been here for one day!" The man exclaimed angrily. "Not to mention those one-sided glasses are really expensive, and-"

"Put the bill in my account, stop whining, and do something productive, for one," a strong voice said from behind. They turned to see Kai with his arms and face crossed.

The man opened his mouth, and closed it again. A fish impression that could win him an award, Hilary thought.

"Kai!" Tyson exclaimed with a teasing grin. "I knew you were coming to help us too. What would we do without you?"

"Whatever, Tyson," the Russian replied. In fact, he wasn't planning on meeting them, he had wanted to continue his practice but the yells coming from the volleyball team were making it hard for him to concentrate. Some of those girls had really shrilly voices, and he was just wishing they'd drop dead so he could have a bit of peace while he trained. That, and the fact that their captain just kept sending him dark glares. What the hell was the problem with her? He focused on the manager. "Go get the cleaning utensils, we take care of the mess." He was met with a hurried nod before the man scurried behind the counter to enter a door.

Chikako arched an eyebrow. "Let me guess: Sei has been shooting you dark looks, eh?" She asked him knowingly. The tall boy's eyes widened a bit with recognition, but said nothing. Chikako took that as a yes.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," Chikako sighed again.

"What about her?" Asked Rei.

"Let's just say that Seiko and beyblade don't mix." Chikako beat around the bush. Tyson pressured

"Well, she's not the only one. That girl, Kimi, was complaining about the real deal about beyblading," the World Champion complained. Chikako shrugged.

"Ah, but she has nothing against it, she just badmouths things and people just for fun. She probably knew someone was listening to her whinning. Kim likes to irritate people to no end. Believe me, I know that from experience."

"But what about Seiko?" Rei asked, tilting his head.

"Seiko is the worst. For some reason we do not know, Seiko absolutely _loathes_ beyblade, and everything related to it," she answered, a puzzled gleam on her eyes. "I guess the only exception is her little brother."

"Her brother is a beyblader?" Tyson asked, his interest peeking a bit more. "How good is he?"

"He's good, very good," Chikako told him, nodding when remembering the last time she had seen him. Ran Tachibana always carried that blade with him.

"Cool!" The navy-haired boy exclaimed. "Do you think I can meet him so we could have a match?" he asked the setter.

"How thick can you get Tyson?" Hilary snapped. "Don't you remember the photograph we saw? The boy is about eight-years old!"

Chikako smiled. "Close enough. Actually, Ran is ten. Michiyo, her sister, _is_ eight-years old," she turned to Tyson. "And I say he's good because I really don't have a good critic eye in beyblading. For you guys he might be just a kiddy."

"Here is the equipment," The manager said and bowed respectfully. Chikako arched her eyebrow again as she glanced at Kai, and then at the manager. Boy, did he know how to order people around.

* * *

"You're doing it all wrong," a voice from behind Max said. The blond blader turned to see Seiko standing there with scepticism on her eyes. She stretched her arm. "You'll ruin the floor like that. Give it to me," she motioned to the broom on his hands.

Max blushed. He hesitated a bit before obliging the girl. She grabbed the broom and started swipping off the glass on the floor with long strokes. Quick and effective, Max couldn't help thinking.

Seiko's dark eyes turned to look at him in mid-stroke. From the position they were in, he could see the light reflecting in her orbs: her eyes were a dark gray and had something violet there as well.

"Are you catching this?" she asked indiferently. "Don't expect me to do all the work for you."

Max gulped and stretched his hand, cursing his pale features in his mind: he was sure he was blushing again.

"Thanks," he said. He tried to imitate the movements Seiko had made. "Like this?" he asked, but not looking at her in the eye.

Seiko nodded. "Yes. Keep it like that," and like that, she went away.

After a while, someone asked: "Surprised?"

"Eh?" Max looked up to see Chikako grinning at him with another broom in her hands. "Well… I guess I could never imagine her with a broom in her hands."

"Seiko worked in restaurant before," Chikako answered, looking at her captain's back with a soft smile, the girl in question discussing with the coach on the other side of the gym. "One of her jobs was sweeping the floor, amongst other things."

Someone beside them scoffed. "Like what?"

Chikako turned to Kai, annoyed. He faced her glare with no problem at all, sitting on the pine bench with his arms and legs crossed. Thing was, he was getting rather sick at the way the orange girl spoke about her captain. She admired Seiko, no doubt about it, but Kai was getting tired to know how good the dark-haired girl was. In his opinion, Seiko was nothing special.

"She worked really hard. That's all you need to know," she replied, crossed.

"I thought I was the only one who knew about that," Kimi commented, calmly walking to where Kai was sitting and grabbing a plastic bottle that was on the bench. It was purple and it had "TTI" in large blue letters stamped in it. Kimi drunk the water with large gulps.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be practicing like the others?" Chikako scolded, hitting with the end of her broom in the synthetic floor.

"Take a look around Chi and you'll see that I'm not the only one," Kimi asked with a smirk, leisurly siting on the bench. Chikako looked around. Indeed, the rest of the players were scattered around, drinking from their bottles, chatting quietly or wiping the sweat from their faces with hand towels. "My bottle just happened to be over here."

"You finished practice?" Chikako asked.

"Almost," Kimi grinned. "After the break we're going to practice some serves."

"Is Seiko going to practice too?" Max asked, entering the conversation.

"Nope. Only in the afternoon." Kimi answered, stretching her legs. She didn't want to get any cramps. "But my guess is that she already practiced before."

Kai closed his eyes. Indeed.

* * *

"Your turn Yama."

"Right," the blonde girl said, throwing the ball in the air and concentrating all her strenght in the arm to shoot it in a powerful serve to the other side of the net.

"Let it rip!" Someone yelled, and just when the ball was being hit by Yama, a blade was launched and raced the ball to the end of the field.

"Eh?" Yama asked, surprised. That wasn't on the program.

"Tyson! Don't interrupt their practice. We've already caused enough trouble!" Yama saw the short kid warn the navy-haired one.

"Don't worry." Kozue said, turning towards them with a kind smile. "We just finished."

"Yeah, Midget." Kimi chimmed in. "Besides, you might have won against Yama, but my serv is much more powerful than hers."

"That's true." Yama concorded, nodding.

"Hah!" Tyson scoffed. "Dragoon is much more faster than you!"

"Race ya?" Kimi asked, defiance in her eyes.

"You bet! The first to hit the wall wins"

* * *

"Damn it. I- I lost."

A howl of laughter was heard. "See? I told you my Dragoon is faster than you! Don't mess with the pros, _Giraffe_."

Kimi's face turned from a surprised and sadone to a furiousother. Shegrowled: «Giraffe»? She could handle Tower and Flagpole, but _«Giraffe»_? That boy was going to pay. Oh, yes, he was doomed. Time for him to get some real action.

"Oh well," she started analysing her nails. "You might have won against me, but I'm not the best server in the team you know, so it's no big deal…" she trailed off, inocently. Only Yama, who was right beside her, caught the mischieful glint in her eyes.

Curiosity made his eyes widen. "You're not? Then who is?"

"Me."

Tyson shivered. Oh no. Not her.

Kimi grinned, looking over Tyson's shoulder. "Care for a race, Seiko?"

Seiko just closed the zipper of a bag lying near them. "Not interested," the captain replied.

"Hah! You're just scared you'll lose!" Tyson dared, although in his mind he was relieve he wouldn't be facing her. Unaware of this, Kimi just shook her head. He was wasting his time, throwing the courage card at her. It was better to speak to a wall and wait for it to answer.

However, Kimi knew how to pull the right strings.

"That's too bad," she said, adding a sad tone to her voice. "Yama and I just lost to him."

The zip sound stopped. "You did, huh?" Seiko asked without turning to them. She then turned to face them. "Okay, I'm in."

"Oh, well, that's too bad, because I don't want to anymore. This just lost all the appeal to me." Tyson replied, finally understanding Kimi's game. He had caught the evil smirk popping into the black-haired girl's lips once the Ronin accepted, and a sudden pull on his gut told him to back off. He was suddenly afraid he would be humiliated.

"You don't, but I do," Max answered, then turned to Seiko hopefully. Seiko nodded. "You're on."

"Cool!" Kenny opened his laptop and turned the camera on. "Now we can analyse the blades' speeds."

"My serve will be suspended, so I'll go by the count of 2," Seiko warned. "That way I'll hit the ball at the same time you launch the blade."

"Okay," Max agreed. Seiko grabbed a volleyball nearby and placed a few feet away from the pitch line, facing the net.

"4…" Hilary started, deciding to give Seiko a bit of time for her to prepare herself once she started earlier.

"3…"

"2…" Seiko threw the ball in the air really high in front of her. She gave a few steps and flexed her legs. She jumped.

"1… Let it rip!"

"Go!"

Seiko hit the ball in the same moment as Max launched Draciel. The green blade spun wildly.

"Woa, Max is going really fast!" Tyson exclaimed.

"Go Draciel!"

Only then Seiko landed from her jump. She watched the ball hitting the wall a good moment before Draciel did. The Bladebreakers gasped. Max lost.

"Okay, now it's my turn!" Tyson interjected, producing his launcher. Seiko turned to him with an arched eyebrow.

"I thought you had given up." She commented in a monothone.

"Not anymore." Tyson replied. In fact, he was amazed at the power of that serve. So this was the best server in the Japanese team, huh? "You're going to bite the dust!"

"Take a look around, Midget, there's no dust to bite, you and your friends took care of that," Kimi replied sarcastically.

"I wasn't talking to you!" He snapped back. He loaded Dragoon in his launcher. "Let's do this!" He turned to the tall girl. She smirked.

"I'll let you know that I was only warming up before," she said. Tyson felt that pull again, but instead of wanting to back off he just wanted to face it and compete. He had to give 200.

"Okay, ready?" Hilary asked. "4…3…2…1…"

"Let it rip!" Tyson launched. Seiko served. The white, blue and yellow ball seemed to disappear for a small while when suddenly it appeared flying in the middle of the pitch, cannoning into the wall, followed soon by Dragoon.

"HAH! Told ya!" Kimi laughed while pointing at Tyson in a teasing way. Seiko looked at the Inside Hitter, and she promptly shut up. Once Seiko's back was turned, Kimi couldn't help but to stuck her tongue at Tyson. The blader growled.

"Just one more." Rei asked Seiko. Seiko seemed to consider, but nodded anyway.

"This is going to get interesting. Speed is Rei's speciality." Dizzy commented from Kenny's hands.

Kimi looked at Yama, and then both look at Seiko, whose eyes flicked briefly to the laptop. She had heard it.

"4…3…2…1…"

"Let it rip!" Rei yelled. The ball and the blade were nose-to-nose for a while after the ball gained some speed. They couldn't tell by this angle who won, but from the sound of a leathery "thud" before the metalic "clack!", they knew that Seiko had won once again.

"That was… one powerful serve." Rei muttered, astonished.

"My turn now." Kai said, positioning beside Rei and looking to the place where Seiko had landed.

Only Seiko wasn't there.

"What?" He turned as he heard the sound of a zipper behind him. Seiko had kneeled in front of the bag and hoisted it up on her left shoulder.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Asked Tyson.

"Enough is enough. I've proven my point." Seiko said over her shoulder.

"What?" Kai was about to explode. He wanted to race against Seiko too. Why was she chickening out?

"But Kai hasn't raced!" Kenny said.

"I don't care. I'm done." Seiko said before starting to leave.

Kimi and Yama shared a glance. They had watched their captain's moves and saw that she had landed less gracefully than the other jumps. Kimi noticed that she hadn't used her right arm to hold the bag up. Yama nodded in understanding. Seiko wasn't balancing her arm as she walked either.

"Rebound?" the blonde asked so quietly only her team mate could hear.

Kimi nodded back.

"Wait!" Hilary called. But it was no use, the girl was already approaching the door, followed by the rest of the team.

Kai just stood there gritting his teeth, the blood on his knuckles flowing away as he clenched his fists. He was going to storm after the volleyball captain, demanding a race that was obviously his right, but was promptly stopped by two pairs of arms in front of him.

"Can't let you do that, sorry." Kimi said, looking down at the two-toned-haired boy with her bright violet eyes.

"At least not for now," Yama said on the other side, a sympathetic smile on her soft features. "Some other time, perhaps."

The two volleyball players followed their team mates. Hilary took a glance at Kai. His face was stony and unreadable and she knew by instinct and experience that he was seething with discontent. She knew that right now, Kai was submiting Seiko Tachibana in his enemy's list.

"_This can't be good,"_ she thought tiredly, closing her eyes as she sighed.

* * *

**Author's notes**: Well, another chapter. We finally get a peek at Seiko's personality, eh? When I was writing this I was starting to wonder if Seiko was getting a bit Mary Sue-ish. What do you think?

On other note, I would like to ask: why do I get only one review in each chapter? Does this mean that I'll only get 20 reviews when I'll post the 20th chapter? Come on people, write and tell me your opinion! I won't bite… (much… HEH! Just kidding!) I want to thank all of those who reviewed until now, but honestly, if I don't get some sort of feedback, I'll just believe that people aren't interested. And I'm not going to bother to post the rest of the story if no interest is shown. Sorry.

Hope you enjoyed it!

_Voodoo-people_


	5. Unexpected

Chapter 4: Unexpected

As the Bladebreakers entered the Bey Stadium, they easily found Mr. Dickinson walking towards them in one of the long corridors surrounding the stands. It was a funny fact that whenever they found someone important, they did it in a place like this. It was raining now, and the morning sun couldn't escape the thick nimbuses that covered the sky, making the walls cast shadows in the circular hallway. There was a beam of light coming from the entrances to the stands that surrounded the Beydish, transforming the air into something eerie. Hilary shook her head as the dampness of the air made a shiver go down her spine.

Max, who was walking right beside her, noticed it. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and his eyes widened as he saw the girl jump a bit in fright.

"Relax, Hil," he winked and gave her a thumbs-up, "it's morning still, and you might be tired. It's normal to feel like this."

Hilary showed him a smile, quietly thanking the American for his understanding. It was true that she was tired. She hadn't slept well that night while she was waiting up for Seiko, she got a sun burn, she got angry with Tyson and she swept half of a gymnasium. That and the realisation that Seiko was not the nice girl Hilary tried to believe she was when she saw the photograph of her and her little «spikes» all in that morning sure made her weary. She somewhat knew that the next nights spent in the same room as the dark-haired girl wouldn't be pleasant.

"Hi Mr. Dickinson!" Tyson greeted eagerly, a grin in his face. "What's up?"

"Hello kids." The old man saluted them with a kind smile. "I have some news concerning the celebrating tournament. Have you ever heard of an all star team?"

Max scrunched up his nose in confusion and scratched his blonde head as he answered.

"Hum… the American Team I was in?" He asked, curious.

"No Max, I'm sorry to tell you that the All Starz won't participate in this tournament. Apparently we caught them in the American Regional championship, and they wouldn't come. However, your mother will come here to watch it; I just got a phone call from her."

"Then what's that team you were talking about?" Tyson asked, tilting his head in a, Hillary thought, cute way. She shook her head, startled: «cute»?

Someone shoot her now.

"It's the team you'll all be facing," the old man answered. "Since the anniversary celebration was planned a bit over the knee, we couldn't help other teams from participating in their own regional, national or international tournaments. However, we managed to get a few passes from some team members that will participate and form a team of their own. That will be the All Star team you'll be facing in the last day of the celebration."

"Wicked!" The navy-haired boy exclaimed, hoping eagerly. "Who are the players? When do they arrive?"

The man's eyes twinkled with merriment and something that looked like mischief.

"Some will arrive today, others tomorrow," he stated. "As for who they are… We decided that we should let you find out for yourselves."

Kenny gasped, anxious and nervous at the suspense. Hillary giggled at his reaction. One thing Kenny never liked was surprises. He didn't like to be facing the unknown. That's where his genius came, after all. Once he met something that seemed unidentified to him, he did his best to analyse it and discover what it was. Hillary wondered if he had been one of those kids that dismantled all his toys to see what was inside.

Tyson's face, on the other hand, fell. Hillary this time smirked. Figures. Obviously Tyson would like to know who their adversaries were, and he was plainly eager to meet them. However, he always preferred the easy way when it came to this kind of things. It was funny how different his attitude was when he was in the middle of a match. When blading, Tyson was very determined and hard-working. Outside of the dish, and Hillary couldn't help but scowl at the thought, he was lazy and spoiled, always wanting to have things done and falling on his lap.

«…or his plate. » She added as an afterthought.

"That's not fair!" Said boy whined as they said goodbye to Mr. Dickinson and headed to the outside of the building, to their bus. He grabbed his cap and bit it. "I wish I'd know who they are!" He said between mumbles as he continued complaining about the unfairness of not being able to know who they were going to meet.

"Hey guys!" Someone called. The bladers turned to see Chikako standing near a gate that lead to the sports centre nearby. She was in a casual outfit, which was something new since they had only seen her with the baggy National Team's Uniform.

"Chikako!" Max exclaimed, earning glances from the rest of them. Then, they decided to shrug off the ecstatic welcome from the American. The blond boy was always this enthusiastic with people, his social skills always supported on the same joyful, enthusiastic way.

The setter winked and beckoned them closer.

"The team presentation is starting. Wanna come and see?" She asked them with a smile.

"You're not participating?" Ray asked, and Chikako's smile saddened a bit.

"No, since I'm not able to play," She answered, showing her bandaged wrist. "I have to go, they are going to call the first team, and I want to cheer for mine and Erika's!"

In fact, as they looked around, they noticed some people hurrying up and entering the gymnasium. They heard some applause and yells coming from the inside.

"Wait for us!" The Bladebreakers skipped to meet the girl that had started jogging towards the building. She didn't stop, but she sent a smile over her shoulder as she realized they were following her.

"This way!" She led them to the audience, and pointed to some empty seats. The bladers gladly took them and glanced at their surroundings.

"This place is packed!" Tyson exclaimed, surprised that this sport at least seemed to be very popular amongst the population.

"The fact that it's free for everyone helps," Chikako answered, her smile becoming a bittersweet line. "We don't have that much of an audience when it comes to real matches, not counting with the half-finals and the finals. We have to use the presentation as something to make people buy the tickets."

"Oh. So it's something like extra advertising, right?" Kenny asked, leaning forward to look at the setter.

"Yes, you might call it like that," she answered, her amber eyes scanning the effusive crowd. "That's why there's that paraphernalia and a stage in the middle of the field now. To spice things up. Some people come here to the ceremony to see the fireworks. Although a while ago we needn't to do this kind of things."

"Heh?" Max interjected. "Why do you need to do it now?"

Chikako smirked.

"That," she said evilly and yet not truly so, "is your entire fault."

"Our fault?" Tyson's eyes were huge as dinner plates and his face was set with an expression of indignation. Chikako, however, seemed unfazed at his reaction. "How come it's our fault?"

"Simple: Beyblading has become so popular amongst people that some began to lose interest in other sports. We're not the only ones to feel the lack of people watching the matches: Basketball, Tennis, even Football that used to carry millions of people to a stadium. To make it simple: you stole our spectators, and they're mostly our source of payment. We need to get our viewers back. And if they come just because it's shiny and loud, then so be it."

Tyson scratched his chin thoughtfully. Chikako saw his expression and lifted her hands up in some type of surrender.

"I'm sorry, I should have put it in another way," she commented. "I'm not trying to blame you."

"That's not it," Tyson answered. "Even if yes, I feel a bit guilty. But there's really nothing we can do about it, right?"

Chikako nodded in understanding.

"I was thinking about Seiko, though," he looked to the centre of the gym, where the stage was set. "Could it be that she hates Beyblading because of that?"

"What did Tyson eat?" Dizzy interrupted suddenly. "He must be sick: I thought I heard him saying something intelligent."

"Hmm…" it was the setter's turn to scratch something, but she chose the skin under her nose to do it, "I get the feeling that she has more reasons than that. But yes, that's a good point of view, specially since—"

Chikako was interrupted by a loud exploding sound. The crowd around them went wild, yelling and cheering. A strong voice boomed through the hall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the XXII Federation Cup Volleyball Tournament!" The voice off said, followed by a loud cheer. Some eerie music started as the lights turned off and a giant screen at the centre of the hall turned on.

"Starting with the home team! JAPAN!"

The crowd stood up and rooted for the team enthusiastically. The Bladers saw a familiar figure running to the centre of the court carrying a big Japanese flag.

"Look! It's Yama!" Kenny commented.

The blonde player climbed the stairs to enter the stage and in an impaling movement, stuck the flag in the centre of the stage floor while fireworks went out.

"Ooh, shiny!" Dizzy commented.

Loud music started and the screen flashed red and white. A feminine figure clad in dark equipment appeared, standing alone with her back turned to the camera, black shirt with flaming red lines on her shoulders and on the number of her back: 7.

The camera did a twirl around the figure and her face became visible, wearing the customary determined expression.

"Seiko!" Hilary exclaimed. Chikako chuckled.

"You wouldn't guess the trouble we had convincing her into this…"

Seiko then did a commanding movement and the other players appeared on screen: Kimi, showing a mischievous grin, Yama, winking with a knowing expression, Chikako herself with a smile, and the rest of them, all with their unique style. At last appeared another player that they hadn't seen before, a two toned-hair girl with a fanged smirk on her lips.

"Who's she?" Asked Ray when the screen started showing some footage from important moments in matches. He got quite curious as he saw in one of those moments the girl with dark brown and dark red on her hair slapping Seiko's hand and saying something to her while she entered the court and Seiko left it. Seiko had the most confident smirk ever, and the girl had no trouble in smiling back.

"Yui," Chikako answered, but she was too immersed in the video to say anything else. She had a bit of longing in her eyes, Ray discovered. «She really wants to play…» he thought.

«They look pretty close. » Kai thought, still scowling at the sight of the team Captain that was just climbing up the stairs with the rest of the team. He saw her wearing a smirk in her lips as she faced the crowd.

"And now… the visiting teams! First, here's GERMANY!" The voice-off announced, producing a loud cheer from a certain part of the audience that was all clad in black and white, German flags waving here and there.

"Oh, Germany. Good," Chikako muttered as she watched the poster-girl of the German team doing the same thing as Yama and another song boomed from the stereo.

"Are they good?" Tyson asked, watching the video playing on the screen. He was somewhat frightened. The girls seemed huge.

"Yes. Otherwise they wouldn't get to this tournament," the setter answered. "They use mostly power play on their games. With someone as Seiko as a libero, we won't have no problems defending it, though."

"Why?" Asked Max. He was confused. In blading, the more power the opponent used, the harder it was to defend it. He took a glance at the stage ahead and saw that the Germans were normal if you compared with the rest of the other volleyball players. He had been pretty sure that he couldn't reach their shoulders.

"Those girls could use a diet," Hilary commented, eyeing the players.

"If they did, Hilary, they wouldn't get any thinner. That is all muscle. But concerning your question, Max, it's easy for an experienced libero to defend a powerful spike if it heads the usual direction. They don't use much technique, so it will be easy for Seiko to discover where they plan on placing the ball."

"Hmm… So you're saying… that Seiko can predict the others' moves?" Ray asked.

"She's not the only one who can, but that's mostly her most precious ability in that position," Chikako nodded. "My guess was that Seiko learned a lot when she was an attacker, how to decode the little signals that each player gives away right before they attack and stuff. However, my guess was that she also did some research of her own."

"Why did she become a libero, Chikako?" Hilary asked, trying to put some pressure. Chikako, however, was looking at a certain part of the audience with a worried frown on her face. Hilary glanced at that particular spot, noting that most of the people were wearing yellow.

"Oh, sorry, you were saying?" Chikako shook her orange mane, getting Hilary's attention again.

"Aaaaand…. RUSSIA!" The voice boomed as some really powerful music was turned on.

"Figures…" Kai heard Chikako mumble over the sound. "This one is Erika's favourite song…"

Now, a lean figure ran to the centre of the stage. The player's face was covered by the huge Russian flag she was carrying. «Funny, » Hillary thought, «that the Russian flag seems bigger than the others…»

But no, she decided when she saw the player move between the Japanese and German players, it wasn't that the flag was bigger – the player was just shorter than anyone else. The player stabbed the flag on the floor, and the garment flew back to reveal a gRay-haired girl waving to the ecstatic crowd with a large, smug smile.

"Tamara!" Chikako yelped, looking at the place to see the Japanese team's reaction. The girls, who had moved to the side of the long stage, were looking, at least, flabbergasted. Even Seiko looked shocked.

"Who's that?" Kenny asked, alarmed, acknowledging the girl's feedback.

"That's Tamara Dyachenko," the amber-eyed girl replied, her eyes trying to reach her team mates'. "She was supposed to be injured!"

"But who is she?" Ray asked, eyeing who seemed the Russian team's mascot.

"That's… the Russian Libero," Chikako said, still a bit shocked. "The Icebreakers are back…"

"What the…? Tamara?" Kimi asked, eyeing the short girl who was standing proudly with one hand on her hip and the other holding the flag. Said Russian turned to look at the Japanese Inside Hitter.

"Hello, Kimi. Had a nice trip home?" A thickly accented voice came from the petite girl's lips.

"How are _you_?" Kimi asked, her violet eyes wide open. "I thought you were injured!"

The girl smirked and turned to the cheering crowd, waving a hand.

"You submitted to surgery didn't you, Dyachenko?" Seiko asked from the back of the group. Tamara turned again to face the Nipponese team, this time with a wicked grin.

"Informed as usual, Tachibana," she acknowledged respectfully. "I just couldn't miss this opportunity to play against you."

"That is, if you reach the finals," Kimi replied, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked up and saw that the rest of the Russian team climbing up the stairs.

"Oh, we're not worried. We're worried about _you_, though," Erika said as she stood beside the shorter girl, a smirk gracing her lips.

"Why do you say that?" Yama asked apprehensively.

Erika's smirk grew wider.

"Oh, we just learned that there was an unexpected team coming here. And, if my calculations are right, you'll face it right in the preliminaries."

"Huh?" Shizuka's eyes were wide open. "Who are you talking about?"

"Well, I guess you're about to find out." Tamara answered. She eyed the Japanese captain and noticed her eyes were quickly scanning the crowd. Clever girl, she thought.

When she reached their final destination, a muscle in Seiko's jaw twitched. "I see you found it now."

"But-" Seiko started, only to be interrupted by some speeding drums in a joyous beat.

Kai had been watching closely the scene going on the stage. With the distance and the loud music he certainly couldn't hear what the volleyball players were saying, but it certainly made Chikako's replacement worried. The Russians, however, looked wickedly satisfied and smug.

A sudden movement caught Kai's eye and he noticed Seiko turning around and searching the crowd. Her eyes scanned quickly by them and he noticed that her eyes lingered a bit on Chikako. She then resumed her scan, and finally stopped. Kai followed her line of vision: it seemed that there was something interesting in a crowd that was wearing yellow and green. He frowned: was there anyone she knew?

The next music boomed to start a new introduction. This one was far livelier, with a hint of something tribal and the rhythm was fast and contagious. Kai noticed Hilary tapping her foot to the sound.

"Ooh! Samba!" Dizzy buzzed. And suddenly Max and Chikako turned to look at the laptop, only to share an alarmed glance between them. Kai's eyebrows knitted as he focused – something was wrong. Then, as if the youngsters had arranged to do so, they simultaneously turned to watch the scene unfold.

"And, here's a surprise for you! We brought to you the world champions! BRAZIL!" The voice-off announced, erupting a roar of excitement in the audience.

"They weren't supposed to be coming!" Chikako half-explained, half-whined, half-exclaimed. Ah, Kai thought, the Japanese team was in for a hard time.

A little happy to know that the annoying volleyball captain was going to have some trouble, he turned to watch the yellow and green players stabbing their flags in the ground and waving and jumping enthusiastically on the stage. On the other end of the arena, Seiko had her eyes set on them and her fists clenched. He couldn't hear what she said, but the sentence was simple enough for him to understand just by reading her lips.

"I hate Samba."


	6. Chapter 6

"_I hate Samba."_

**Chapter 6:** Friends, Family and… sparks?

Erika smirked as she watched the Brazilian players get on stage, waving and jumping enthusiastically to the sound of their music. Her smirk grew wider as she noticed Tamara wooting with them, although she'd bet her salary and her sports car that she was doing it just to rile up Seiko and Kimi. It was funny how such a little person had so much passion, energy and determination, especially when her adversaries were involved. Those particular traces were mostly what made her win the libero position. Tamara would sweep the entire court if it was necessary. Tamara and Kimi were the newest assets to the Modena team and easily became champions in the Italian League, she noted mentally as she checked the violet-eyed girl who was talking to the rookie Shizuka in a somewhat bothered tone.

As the other teams were introduced, her gaze turned to fix herself in the tallest player of the Japanese team, Yama. The Inside Setter and poster-girl was talking with a smile to one of the Brazilian players, Adriana Oliveira. Erika frowned, Yama was planning on joining the Rexona? That team was struggling in the Brazilian championship to keep up the leadership so could it be that they had shown interest in Yama? The Russian made a mental note to investigate that.

Her eyes examined the crowd, yelling and cheering. She noticed Chikako in the stands, surrounded by a bunch of people she didn't know. Erika sighed, closed her eyes for a moment and revelled on the joy of the fans, a smile playing in her lips. This is what made the world go round for her.

_Competition.

* * *

_

"_¿Entonces, chica, vamos a ganar el torneo?_" someone whispered by Seiko's ear, earning a quick jerk of the Japanese's head to the side. Bones cracked on the libero's neck, and the person winced. Trust Seiko to be so reckless.

"_Pero… ¿Chamayra?"_ Seiko asked, instinctively recognising the voice and speaking in Spanish. Chamayra grinned.

"I told you we'd get here," another girl in a white uniform with blue stripes and two white stars in red background on the shoulders joined the conversation with a white grin that clearly contrasted her dark skin. She quickly hopped and hugged Seiko, producing a startled gasp from the Japanese.

"Laline!" she exclaimed somewhat breathlessly at the huge vice she was in.

"Breathe, Sei, breathe," another girl wearing the same uniform advised.

"Marisa!"

"We know our names, Sei, there's no need to repeat them," Chamayra pointed out with a mischievous smile. Seiko glared, but was smirking back.

"Fine. I just can't believe you're here."

"_¿Cómo no? _Don't underestimate us Cuban. We promised to get into the top 10 and we did it," Chamayra looked extremely proud.

"Yeah, and it's time we get to show everyone that the Cuban team is back to business," Laline circled an arm around Chamayra's shoulders, the grin never fading. Seiko looked down after narrowing her eyes in merriment and shook her head good-naturedly.

"Besides, it's nice to see old-friends again, isn't it?" Marisa asked her with that deep and lilted voice of hers. Seiko nodded, arching an eyebrow in recognition.

"Indeed, even if it has been a week since I left Cuba," the Japanese libero answered.

"_¡Aaaaah pero nos has echo mucha falta, Sei-rica!"_ Laline lunged for Seiko again to give her another massive hug. This time, however, it wasn't unexpected and Seiko managed to side-step her calmly, arms crossed over her chest, while the Cuban only hugged thin air.

"You're mean!" Laline grinned, only to get a smirk from Seiko.

"You think after all those spontaneous hugging in libero practice I wouldn't learn when you'd do it?"

Laline stuck her tongue out. Both teams laughed. Seiko, for the first time in a long time, smiled.

* * *

After the ceremony, Chikako lead the Bladebreakers to the exit of the stadium. Ray blinked at the sunlight that hit him as he walked out the sports ground. The orange-haired girl smiled and bid goodbye, announcing that she would wait for her team mates to get out. Max and Ray thought it would be better to stay with her and keep her company, since the players still had to change. Hillary, Kenny, Tyson and Kai headed to the hotel, determined to start practice against the "All Star" Team they would face in the BBA anniversary.

When the four of them reached out the main hall of the huge building, sharp squeals could be heard from the interior garden. As Hilary peered through the glass automatic doors, she spotted two little kids running about the grass, one with a blade trailing after them. Hilary giggled: they seemed to be having fun.

Kenny turned around.

"Coming, Hil?" he asked. Hilary nodded and followed them.

* * *

"The winner is Kai!" Kenny announced after Dragoon slid out the dish.

"Tyson! You need to focus on those new attacks!" Hilary complained with her fists clenched and an eyebrow twitching.

"How can I focus when my stomach is rumbling?" Tyson complained, only to hear a sound coming from his belly. "See? I'm starving!"

"All you think about is food and—"

"I'm done for now," Kai said to Kenny, noticing that the other two were too immersed in each other to acknowledge his exit. Kenny, eyes never leaving the computer screen, sent him a thumbs up and a nod. But the brown-haired boy never noticed that Kai had already left when he did that.

The Russian blader got out of the smaller gym, entering the bigger one. The volleyball net was still up, and he walked towards it leisurely and observing the court. There were other lines on the floor that limited the basketball, handball and inside soccer fields and two tennis courts. The volleyball court was the only one which was filled with a colour different from the rest of the ground, making it stand out over the others. When he reached the net, he looked up, to analyse the height and the web. Pristine white stretched out perfectly between the two posts. Kai hmphed and ducked under the net to get out of the gym.

He decided to look around, and found himself in the interior garden of the hotel, which was fairly wide. The garden was lush and green, two trees here and there and some flowers next to a small pound. There was a small cafe at the other side of the garden with a plaza, the white paned umbrellas basking in the sunlight. Kai sat by one of the trees, enjoying the freshness of the shadows.

He had to admit, Mr. Dickinson had outdone himself, but then again it wasn't anything to be surprised of as beyblade's and the BBA's popularity was still rocketing. It was usual for a rich company like this hotel chain to want to sponsor such an event.

He reminded of Chikako's words:

"_Beyblading has become so popular amongst people that some began to lose interest in other sports. We're not the only ones to feel the lack of people watching the matches: Basketball, Tennis, even Football that used to carry millions of people to a stadium. To make it simple: you stole our spectators, and they're mostly our source of payment. We need to get our viewers back. And if they come just because it's shiny and loud, then so be it."_

"_Could it be that Seiko hates Beyblading because of that?"_

Now he had to admit, Tyson did have some brains after all.

"Come on sis, I want to show you a new trick!" A childish voice spoke from the entrance.

"Ran…" another started, a familiar one.

"It will be fun!" The first answered excitedly. Kai spotted four sets of footsteps, and one other lower voice chuckling quietly. The Russian opened his eyes to take a look at what was happening. Only to rise his eyebrows at the scene.

One of the two kids that had been playing outside when they headed to practice had a large beyblade launcher in one of his little hands, while the other was dragging an exasperated Seiko Tachibana with him. Kai recognised the kid immediately.

"_Spikes_," he muttered. Where was the other one?

When Ran pulled on Seiko's sleeve a bit more, making her lean forward due to the difference between heights, Kai spotted the kid sister, who was exactly a smaller version of Seiko. She was holding a woman's hand.

_Their mother._

The woman had nothing to do with Seiko, except for the dark-brown hair. It tumbled down in a rather rebel way upto her shoulders, making her look younger than what she probably was. The little girl had the same green, wide eyes as her mother. Something that differed from Seiko.

Now Ran, that little brat, had the same soft features of his mother, but the same narrow almond-shaped eyes from Seiko. He was tugging on her sleeve when she started pulling back and he finally gave up.

"Okay, show me then." Seiko asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Here it goes!" Ran grabbed a silver beyblade and placed it on the launcher. "One, two, three, LET IT RIP!"

Not bad for a little kid, Kai reckoned. You could tell that the kid practiced a lot by the way he launched his blade. However, it lacked expertise and Ran still had a long, long way to go. He didn't lack enthusiasm, though, he saw as he looked at the fire burning in the little kid's eyes.

Something panged in his chest. Kai never had that much enthusiasm in Beyblading. He had been forced to do it by his grandfather, and he had played it against his will. He had been determined to quit once he could unleash from his Voltaire's claws.

However, even when the Abbey seemed a distant memory, he kept playing. He did realize that Beyblading was his life, and that competition and trying to excel was an acquired taste. An addicting acquired taste. He couldn't live without it now. It was his meaning for life.

Success.

The silver blade soared across the lawn in good speed, describing a circle. It kept spinning and spinning until it finally started leaving little white trails of itself in the air it threaded, almost forming a circle of light…

…until the blade got out of control and whirled directly towards the Tachibanas.

"DUCK!" Seiko exclaimed, managing to dodge and cover her mother and brothers with her arms. The blade smashed against the wall, flying over the crouching people.

"That was close," the little girl, Michiyo commented with her green eyes wide.

"HELL!" Ran exclaimed, to win a reprimanding sound from his mother. "Sorry. But I swear I could do it, Sei, I swear!" He looked to his sister with disappointed eyes, and the older girl mussed his hair.

"I believe you, spike. Don't worry," she answered, and Kai could notice her voice was different. "You know what you have to do, don't you?"

"Practice, practice, practice," the boy quoted excitedly, nodding. Seiko nodded back and helped her mother getting up.

Seiko was… different. Kai would never believe she could be so calm and caring towards her family. It was nothing like when she was practicing or speaking to them, when she looked detached and authoritarian. Now she seemed worried and Kai couldn't help but think about the word "protector" as she placed a hairpin in her mother's hand so she could place it in her hand.

When Seiko stood up from her squatted position, she headed towards the place where the blade hit the wall (where some of it had chipped off with the impact) and picked the blade from the floor.

Kai's hand instantly jerked from his blade – he had been holding it in case of an emergency - with the electric shock he caught inside his pocket. Seiko's mother let the hairpin fall with a wince. Ran yelped and stared at his launcher as a little spark got out. The automatic doors opened and closed without anyone even passing nearby.

Kai stared.

_What the hell?_

-

* * *

**Author Notes:** I'm really sorry it took so long. I've been so busy and this fic hasn't been on my head lately. This chapter was _hard_ to do so I'd appreciate some feedback here. Thanks!

Spanish translation:

"_¿Entonces, chica, vamos a ganar el torneo?_" – So, girl, shall we win the tournament?

"_Pero… ¿Chamayra?" – _But… Chamayra?

_¿Cómo no? – _Why not?

"_¡Aaaaah pero nos has echo mucha falta, Sei, rica!" – _Aaaah, but we missed you so much, Sei, darling!

Voodoo-People


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Beyblade. I own, however, Seiko and all her genealogic tree and volleyball players around her. I do not own some of the team's names referred in here, since I'm not even sure if some exist or not, and definitely not the national teams.

* * *

**Chapter 7:** _Engineering_

Ray had absolutely no idea why there was a knock on their door, even though he was back home watching Mariah carrying a letuce and then throwing it on the middle of a railroad he didn't even know. His subconscious frowned, what the hell was that? And why did he keep hearing someone knocking if there were no doors around the place where he was?

A surprisingly sharp knock, however, made him open his eyes and blink quickly, eyes hurting because of the sudden flash of light projected by the digital clock on his bedside table. God, that thing was bright... and kept blinking, and showed that it was 2.43h in the morning. He started. Someone knocking on the door at this hour? He rolled over to spot the other boy lying on the bed beside him watching his breathing make the blanket move up and down in a slow and steady pace. Hadn't he known better, Kai would be fast asleep and dreaming about whatever a guy like him dreams about, but he could sense that he was very much well awake, and had just waited for him to wake up and take care of whatever was happening. Ray rolled lazily out of the bed and opened the door, squinting his golden eyes to peek on the corridor and the person who had woken them up.

"Wha... Hilary?" he muttered lazily, sticking his head through the space between the door and its frame. The brunnette was looking sheepish, and slightly adorable in that oversized beige pajamas of hers.

"I can't sleep, Ray," she whispered back, not wanting to disturb the people in the other rooms. Wise move, the neko-jin thought. In hotels, you could always listen to what other people were saying in the corridors. It was standard fact. "I've been waiting up for Seiko to come back, but then I realized she might not come, and I got worried..."

Apparently Hilary wasn't making much sense at the moment. Probably she was just as tired as he was. However, the fact that Seiko hadn't shown up in her room at this time of the night was unsetling. He thought about warning her team's coach, Kozue, but then he had heard before that she wasn't staying in the hotel but in a villa in the suburbs of the city. "Do you know who the vice-captain of their team is?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes with thumb and forefinger.

At that, Hilary blinked, wondering why she had never thought about that fact. Ray knew that was it she was thinking because he was wondering the exact same thing. So far, Seiko had been the one who took the reins and led the team even outside the courts. Her presence had been so demanding that it put the people around the team certain that she was boss, and no one else. He frowned. There was always a team captain and a vice-captain. Who could it be? Yama was wise and mature but she seemed too aloof to actually have a leadership role. Kimi was just too much of a trouble maker to actually bear the responsibility of a whole team on her shoulders. Chikako seemed nice, but not exactly autoritary... he wondered if there was a girl in the National team that hadn't shown her true leadership skills so far, some sort of Shadow Queen (and where the hell did he pick that expression up?) that only showed her true character when the situation called for it.

Ray sighed. "I guess we can take a look around the hotel," he suggested, tilting his head a bit to lean on the door frame.

Hilary looked relieved. "Seriously? Can we do that? I wanted to, but the hotel looks so dark and scary at night..." as if on cue, she shivered. Ray gave her a sleepy, but comforting smile. "Yeah, just let me get dressed, I'll knock on your door when I'm ready."

"Alright!" She said, a little too louder than she was supposed to and, realizing that, covering her mouth with her hands. She gave him a thumbs up, and went back to her room to get changed, while Ray turned around and shut the door behind him to do the same.

He took a look at Kai's fake-sleeping form absently. Hillary had told them that Seiko had arrived late the other night and that when Hillary had woken up, she was gone already. He had thought Seiko was hanging out in her team-mates' room or something, but it was starting to look like this was something that Seiko did regularly. Even if he wasn't the type to pry into other people's business, he couldn't help feeling that something was fishy. Maybe she turned into a ninja warrior at night to fight against the darkness that looms over the purity of justice ...man, he wasn't exactly awake yet, was he? He shook his head and decided to put some clothes on, and then, when he opened the door, he found a Max zooming past by him. "Hey!" Ray whispered fiercely, making the blond america turn on his heels with a start. "Jesus on a flying cracker, Ray, don't scare people like that!" Max reprimanded as he looked around and put his hand on his chest to control the heaving.

"What are you doing here?" Ray asked him, taking in his sleeping outfit - t-shirt and some large old shorts.The blonde grinned. "I was about to get something from the vending machine by the elevator, I get hungry in the middle of the night, see, and I ran out of Oreos," Max did a double take on the Chinese boy and, immitating him, took in his clothes. "Why are you in full gear at a time like this?"

Ray sighed. "Seiko hasn't gone to her room yet, and Hillary is worried. I'm going to search around the apartment with her," he said. The American tilted his head.

"So you just searched your bedroom? Did you think she was with Kai or something? I've always heard that opposites attract, not the other way around..." at Ray's pointed look, he stopped with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, head functions funny at this time of the night."

"I know exactly what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Ninjas."

"Dude, I so understand that."

* * *

In the end, Max decided to go with them, since the cookies and the soda he bought were sort of giving him a sugar rush and he needed to do something before trying to get back to sleep to burn it all, or it would end up in a night with tossing and turning on his bed, specially with Tyson on the bed next to him snoring like a bull. This usually resulted in not getting enought rest and him in a groggy state until noon, and Max hated that. He wondered if a hangover felt similar; he had heard tales and stories about hangovers that made your head hurt, and even though he didn't drink (never saw the appeal of alcohol, after all), he had to wonder about it. He was a teenager, right? It was normal to be curious about this kind of things, though Max knew better than to exactly try them.

The American wondered about these late nights of Seiko. Where could she be, and what exactly was she doing at this hour? Max peeked around a corner where two hallways intercepted, just to take a look at the lounge in the ground floor. "She's not here, either," he told the brunette next to him, shrugging his shoulders in a sign that there was nothing he could do.

Hilary grunted. Seiko wasn't even in the gym, where she thought she would be. The volleyball player seemed to be the type of person who would stay up the hours of the night to train alone, but it was with slight disappointment and some anxiousness that she found the gym empty, the floor shimering and reflecting the city light projected through the windows. She had found the court beautiful like that, specially when Max turned on the lights to take a better look. Seeing the lights flickering and becoming more stable with each blink as it revealed the gym little by little, the light dampness of the air surrounding it, and specially the quiet, every single step given by her or Max echoing easily in the walls, the pristine white net stretched across the field... she could understand the appeal to it. And as she glanced over to Max, he must've been thinking along the same lines too.

"Maybe Ray has better luck," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "He's better at covering ground than us, after all."

Hilary nodded. Ray said he'd be back when he finished taking a look at the upper floors. In the meanwhile, she was going to take a breath of fresh air in the garden.

The air was damp outside, there were small droplets of water on the grass blades with the night dew, but it was warm and comfortable. The night sky was clear, but showed no stars, due to the heavy lighting of the city around them. There were small light spots in the middle of the lush garden, providing small places with interesting shadows cast on the ground and the walls. It made this simple garden look like a place of a fairy tale, and Hilary imagined masquerade parties in the middle of a night like that, soft violin music drifting through the air and brushing pleasantly over someone's ears like the dew in itself. Clearly the hotel designer had thought about every single detail.

She stretched and yawned, and then spun on the tips of her toes to go back inside. It was then that she noticed something that contrasted with the dream-like landscape around her. On the pristine white wall, next to the electric doors, there was a dark patch, almost circular, with a pattern that was pretty much familiar to her.

"Hey, Max, come over here," she said, stepping closer to it and tracing the dent on the wall with her fingertips. When Max stood next to her, she pointed to it. "Isn't this from a beyblade?" she asked, stepping aside to let him take a closer look. The blond leaned into it, and blinked, tilting his head. "Yeah, a beyblade apparently smashed against the wall face first on here. I wonder if it had a bitbeast and if it did, if it damaged it," he muttered. Hilary's eyebrows arched graciously. "I don't recognize the pattern, though. Is this," she pointed to the edge of some spiky curves that curled outwards, like a burning sun, "an attack ring?"

"...yeah." Max frowned, he had seen this type of attack ring before, but he knew for sure that it wasn't a common attack ring. Who did this beyblade belong to? And what happened for it to smash face first on this wall? "I might ask Kenny about it, maybe Dizzy can have some information on it."

* * *

Ray was about to give up searching for Seiko. To be honest, he wouldn't have done it if it weren't for Hilary seeming so worried. That in itself puzzled him. One moment Hilary was dead afraid of the volleyball captain, the other she couldn't sleep because she was worried and wondering where she was. For some reason it struck him as odd, and he decided to put it on the "women are complicated" behavior list. Not that he hadn't seen that happen before. Once in a while, when he was upset with Mariah or vice-versa, he witnessed some of her mood-swings before. One time she was angry and hissing at him, the other she was almost purring at him and giving him those eyes... Argh, snap out if. Bad kitty! He sighed again. It wasn't the time of thinking about his girlfriend, which he missed terribly. He needed to make sure that Seiko wasn't in one of these conference rooms in one of the top floors.

Ray opened the door to the first one, only to find the light out and empty. The large window pane consisted in a whole wall, showing the Tokyo landscape by night, a perfect place to take a picture, copy it and sell them as postcards. The room had a large table, eclipse-shaped and surrounded by chairs that looked posh and executive and yet comfortable. Hanged on one of the walls was a silver screen, and, on the oposite side of the room, a projector. He wondered if the people who had meetings in this room actually managed to get some work done. All a person needed to get distracted was taking a look at the landscape and absort themselves in it, which wasn't a hard task at all. Ray could just sit there and meditate while looking over it, the hullaballoo of the city night life quietened down easily with the altitude where he was, distant from everything stressful.

Well, Seiko didn't seem to be there. He shut the door quietly, and it was then that he found a light at the end of the (tunnel? Shut up) hallway. It was seeping under the door, from another conference room. He strode the corridor with light steps, and noticed when he was close enough that the door was open, just resting by the door frame. Ray pushed it slowly and peeked through the gap, blinking at the light hitting his eyes. He saw various piles of books and papers, and he had to open the door a bit more to take a better look.

It was then that he saw a person sitting at the farthest seat of the long meeting table, head resting on arms that were folded over the table top, over a book. If it weren't for the long braid cascading down her shoulder and coiling around her elbow, Ray couldn't exactly tell it was Seiko. Was she okay? He opened the door, and quietly moved closer.

She seemed to be asleep. The neko-jin had to make a triple-take to make sure it was her, after all. Those stern features he had seen the other days were absolutely gone, and he realized then that she seemed a lot older than she actually was. He had given her more than 20 years old, but now that he watched her sleep, he just noticed she was probably their age. Another thing she had in common with Kai, he thought as he reached to brush away a strand of her hair that was lying across her cheek and over her lips; that, and the fact that the Russian also looked extremely vulnerable when he was sleeping. He had seen his expression once or twice when he woke up in the middle of the night for no special reason. He also knew that was why Kai was always the one getting up early, so others wouldn't wake up to see his face, and why he was the last one going to bed, waiting for everyone to fall asleep first. Ray thought it was a plain silly reason, but he didn't talk to him about it. Kai was a proud guy, so of course he would find it a weakness and would probably be pissed if mentioned.

But Seiko looked vulnerable and extremely tired. The light accentuated the dark circles forming under her eyes, barely noticeable by the dark lashes that crowned her cheekbones. Ray looked over to the books and the papers. There was a large ruler resting over a wide blue paper and a white marker. Plans? He leaned in and found that it was a blueprint of an automobile. He picked up the first book on the pile on his left and read the title: _Advanced Engineering,_ it said. So Seiko was studying to be an engineer? On top of being a volleyball player? He wondered why she was doing this. Her team mates were right, she was overworking herself.

Ray sighed and decided he shouldn't wake her up, that it would embarrass and infuriate her to no end to have him find her there. He made sure she was well sat on the chair and took the books under her arms carefully. This was the least he could do. He went away and turned the lights off, checking on Seiko once more before closing the door behind him and heading towards the lobby, where Max and Hilary were possibly waiting for him. He turned around, suddenly, with an odd prickle on the back of his neck. He scratched that spot. How odd, he could swear he saw something move. He shook his head again. It was late, he should go back to sleep.

* * *

"Ray," Hilary called as the Chinese boy sat down next to them on one of the couches on the lobby. "Any luck?" she asked curiously. Ray took a while answering. Should he tell the others that Seiko fell asleep when studying? He cautiously pretended to yawn as he decided about the subject. Not that his friends weren't trustworthy, just that this was Seiko's business and not theirs. And certainly not his either. "I found one of her colleagues in the hallway," he lied, wincing internally but finding it wouldn't matter much. "She said that she had been practicing till late and had to go to talk to her coach. She's probably staying the night there," he said.

"See? No worries, Hil," Max patted Hilary on the shoulder in a gentle manner and stood up. Ray did the same and offered her his hand to help her stand up as well. "Now let's get some sleep, cause we'll need the rest, for sure!"

They were starting to head towards the elevators when Hilary stopped on her tracks, watching the doors that led to the inner garden. "Oh, by the way, Ray, let me just show you this first before I forget." She pointed at the garden, earning a curious look from the neko-jin.

Max stood his ground and lazily pressed the button to call the elevator, waving him a dismissive hand. "Go ahead, already seen it. Going to bed," he said. Ray shrugged and followed Hilary inside the garden.

Hilary showed him the shape of the nicked wall, and Ray sobered up a little. "This is from a beyblade," he muttered, and Hilary nodded. "Yeah, see here? Max and I think that this is probably the attack ring. I don't remember seeing a shape like this in Kenny's archives. Does this mean anything to you?"

Ray's eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized the shape on the wall. That was unmistakeably an attack ring, he just didn't know what type was it. He picked up his own beyblade and pressed it slightly in order to fit it against the dented wall. His beyblade was larger, so it didn't fit, but looking at the top oh his blade, he could compare the outline of the hole with his. It seemed similar to him, only that the design was more simpler. It was slightly unnerving, trying to picture a blade like that. It gave him the same impression that a sharp katana would give him. Simple, austere, but deadly when handled correctedly. He wondered about its owner, if it were just a mere amateur that tried to build his own parts or if it was a professional's job. Ray ran his fingertips over it to feel the sharpness of the dent and it was with surprise that he felt the stone of the wall cutting the skin of the pad of his finger and almost cutting the flesh. His eyes widened and he pulled his finger back to take a good look. It was like a papercut. It was starting to feel like one, too, that annoying itch mixed with ache already making his finger swell. He stopped wondering: a blade capable of doing such a thing wasn't a mere ammateur's work, but of a precise craftsman. And he was sure the outline seemed familiar, but he was just too tired to think about it clearly.

"More or less," he muttered, reaching up to rub at his temple. "I can't remember clearly, but it's familiar," Ray looked over at Hilary's eyes. "I'll remember to ask Kenny about it. This seems interesting. But for now, let's go to bed. It's getting chilly and we need to rest."

Hillary nodded, and Ray barely got the feeling of going up to his and Kai's room via elevator and muttering good night to Hilary. He did, however, have the final thought of how did Kai manage to sleep if he didn't have his blanket over him anymore, before falling asleep.

* * *

**Authors' Note:** Whoa, it's been a while since I've written anything. Again, sorry about the spelling/grammar mistakes, I just bought myself a laptop and I don't have Microsoft Word, much less a checker. This was all done in WordPad, whoo.

Also, I'm sorry I took so long writing but to be honest, inspiration was hard to find. Plus, there has been real life trouble that didn't exactly allow me to have a life, much less have time to actually do some of my hobbies. Hope it won't be the case from now on!

As always, reviews and comments are very much welcome. This chapter seems to build up even more questions about the volleyball players, specially Seiko, and doesn't give any answer to the readers. I appologize to all you rock throwers that are probably calling me a tease right now. It's just that I rather enjoy taking things one step at a time. Now why would Seiko study enginneering if she already is a professional volleyball player? There's a hint in one of these 7 chapters already, you just need to pay attention.

As for pairings, I already settled who will stay with who, but it's going to take a rather long while since these characters are stubborn little things. And I do mean _long_, seriously. There have been hints around too, but that's for you to find out. Come on, fandom, you can make subtext turn into buttsex in Harry Potter, sure you know where to find the blooming romance. Oh, and to who's asking, no yaoi here, nope. :P


	8. Chapter 8: Original Prankster

**Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, its characters, and their teams. I don't own the volleyball teams, either. **However, the volleyball players are pretty much a product of my imagination and they are, therefore, mine.

**Author's note:** Please do remember that this fic is settled between V-force a G Revolution, which is why none of the GRev's characters are appearing here. Also, I'm using the American version of the series, not the original Japanese one. Just because Erika Ivanova sounds like Tala's real name, Yuuri Ivanov, doesn't mean they're related. Also, in the Japanes version, it is mentioned that Whyatt gets killed. I need Whyatt for this one, so just think that he got into a coma, mkay? Hope you like this new chapter! It's pretty long, but I enjoyed writing it!

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**

**Chapter 8: **_**Original prankster**_

Max yawned. Trust Kai to put training hours in times that were too early in the morning and too late in the evening. It was 6.30h a.m. and the Bladebreakers were all up and awake, though barely, moving sluggishly towards the gym to do one hour of practice, 15 minutes of break, and another hour on the beydish. The American teen reached up with his hand to scratch at the back of his head lazily as another yawn bubbled up in his jaw and made his mouth open wide, taking in all the oxygen he could take in one breath, his ears unfocusing on the sounds around him for a moment and his eyes watering up slightly.

He wasn't in a worse state than the others, though. Tyson, despite being the one who had slept most and had a deep, heavy sleep, was having a hard time to stay awake; his eyelids were sliding shut slowly and his head was bobbing down lightly, only to jerk up quickly again as his neck reached an angle that was too sharp for comfort. The blunette reached behind his neck to rub it; whiplash was a pain as it was incredibly bothersome, since not only it ached but also made your muscles sore for quite a long while. Tyson moved his head from one side to another, making the bones of his neck pop. Max winced. It always got to him when he heard those crackling sounds. The girl in his team, Emily, had the habit of suddenly moving her hand so all joints in her fingers cracked one by one, making Max squirm. It creeped him out the way she did the same with her wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles, neck, knees, and hips, all whenever she wanted, and pretty damn easily. When once she did a sequence that involved poping _all_ of those joints just to get a reaction from him, Max had watched with morbid fascination. He asked her in a incredulous tone if she was all broken in the inside, but Emily just grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief, and she flicked one wrist once, making it crack loudly, for Max's disgrace.

In fact, the one who had yet to show problems in staying awake at the time was Kai. Even if Ray's eyes were wide open, it was noticeable that he also fell into a daze once in a while or that he was hiding a subtle yawn or two behind his hand. Hilary almost had the word 'groggy 'stamped on her forehead, and Kenny... Max wouldn't really be able to tell. If it weren't for the low 'mornin'' he uttered when they gathered in the lobby, his brown bangs and thick glasses covering his eyes, other than that and the fact that he hadn't said anything else so far, no one could really tell he was having problems with staying awake.

Kai's eyes, however, were pretty much visible between the gray chunks of hair falling over his brow - in what Max once heard Hilary call "a stylish mess", though how a mess was actually stylish, he had yet to find out - and he didn't show signs of fatigue at all. Max sometimes wondered about that. He knew that Kai had never gone to sleep before them and that he was always waking up earlier than anyone else in the team. It was no news that he had been like that even before they all met, but to show such vivacity at these hours was not only something to admire, but also confirmed that this boy was anything but normal.

When first asked about the practicing schedule, Kai had just replied that if they could train well when sleep-deprived, they'd be able to do what they practiced easily when they were in better conditions. To Max, yes, that made sense; but then Tyson quipped that what Kai really wanted was to avoid the Japanese volleyball team, since last time they had practice together, he couldn't exactly concentrate with the yells coming from the volleyball court and the dark glares from a certain captain. That earned the blunette a growl and a punishment of 10 laps around the gym, for surprise and amusement of the volleyball team. Even when he was running on the opposite side of the gym, you could still see Tyson's red face from the catcalls and the cheers coming from the tall girls.

_"Come on, Midget, you can run faster than that!" _

_"Shut up, Izawa, or you'll be the next one running!"_

_"Kimi, stop stalling and serve already!"  
_

_"Oops, sorry, Sei."_

On that subject, it was interesting, Max reckoned, how the volleyball team was all enthusiastic about their practices and the tournament even if they were facing a financial crisis. He guessed that these girls were happy that they could play the sport they loved the most despite their salaries lowering each year - although, Max remembered, Chikako said that the players that you considered "indispensable" didn't have any problems about that.

_"For example, Erika has a Porsche for a car," Chikako had told them when they joined her on the pinepony in the middle of practices. "Adriana Oliveira has two stables in Brazil and a beach place in Fiji."_

_Max and Kenny had been amazed. "Whoa, what about you and Seiko, then?"_

_The orange-haired girl blushed and laughed. "What! Don't tell me you think I'm indispensable!" At the boys' incredulous gazes, she explained. "This is my first year in the senior league. I'm the youngest of the team. Kimi and Yui are the star players of their teams." _

_"But you're from Erika's team back in Russia!" Kenny explained as he closed the laptop in his hands. "...aren't you?"_

_Chikako nodded. "Yeah, but I'm an 'investement'. Basically I was scouted from a high school team and the Moscow VC hired me almost as a trial. I got into the starting team with a lot of luck and help from my team mates, but I'm barely indispensable there."_

_"But you and Seiko seem to know each other really well, we thought you two had met earlier than a year ago."_

_At that, the Setter smirked and tilted her head, her eyes roaming across the gym to stop at the captain who was discussing some ideas with the coach and was being flanked by Yama and Kimi. That made a pretty interesting picture, since the two attackers were leaning over each of Seiko's shoulders to take a look at the notebook she was holding as if it was the most normal thing to do. Geez, those two were anormally tall, Max had thought, but yet, they didn't seem to have that uncoordination he had seem some tall people have. He guessed that was one of the reasons why they were so successful._

_"Seiko's mother was a teacher in some high school, and she had taken an interest in volleyball due to her daughter's career, which had just started, at the time" she told them, her voice turning softer, uttering the words the way nice memories were supposed to be told. "Once she took her three children to see the match of her high school's team against mine. Seiko, who had just entered the trials for the national team's selection, met me after the match asking me to hone my skills as a Setter and to do my best for my last game before I graduated. I didn't know who she was then, and thought she was some creepy stalker lunatic who was saying creepier things to me, so I ignored it. But after a while, the media started to announce the "arrival of the Ronin" and the new volleyball player who was revolutionizing the entire Japanese team by winning its captaincy right after Yui's injury, and when I realized it was her and the success she was having, I found that I wanted to follow her lead and started following her advice. Two years later, after winning the high school finals the year I graduated - which was last year - I was told a scout from an international team had taken an interest in me and wanted to see me. After a while, the Japanese representative invited me to go and join the national team for a friendly match against Russia, and I finally met Seiko there." _

_She stopped and sighed, bringing her feet up to rest on the bench and wrapping her arms around her knees for leverage, and her gaze was of gratitude as she looked over at the captain. "I owe my career to her, I guess. Back when we first met, she showed she had faith in me, and I know that she still has, for every single one of us. I'm not going to let her down and will do my best to become an "Indispensable" soon."_

_"So if you're not indispensable, then what about Seiko?" _

_"Sei is anything but," she had uttered the words as if she were quoting them. The two boys quickly recognized that those were Seiko's words, and were quite surprised at the lack of arrogance they held. _

_"Seiko has yet to become one, and we think it has to do with the fact that there's no proof that our captain was in any team before enrolling in the national team. No official coach, no nothing. That, technically, has the consequence of the player not having any experience at all in their curriculum, and that's a necessary aspect for them to become a star player or indispensable for a team." Chikako winked at Max, which made him blush. "But with the fact that Seiko has been behaving brilliantly in the Cuban league, we think this is The Year for her." she told them in a conspicuous tone._

Despite each member playing in different teams, it seemed that this team was a tight-knit group and had a strong bond. If someone ever doubted it, all it was needed to prove otherwise was bring up the fact that none of the players that were called for the private game against Russia hesitated in keeping the mysterious reason of Seiko turning a Libero, and endangering her position as a captain, a secret for so long; and with that much pressure from the media and its audiences, that was a great feat. But then again, that could be just from the mere respect they had for Seiko as a captain. Seiko was the type of person who seemed to bear a certain air of dignity with everything she did, as if she were from an old, noble family. It was either the way she moved, or the way she talked, Max wasn't exactly sure: It was just there, and it made most people uneasy. From that, it certain brought the uncautious around her have a sense of admiration, which was just the first step to respect. Ray had the same air about him due to his lineage in his village, and so did Kai, due to his high social status, despite the shady business his grandfather dealt with.

For a moment, Max imagined Seiko in the middle of a wide, lush garden, with perfectly groomed bonsai trees here and there, practicing archery with a pristine white kimono with a large mansion behind her and a loyal old buttler waiting for her every order as he stood a little to the side, watching her patiently and clapping softly whenever she hit the bullseye.

But something didn't seem right in that image. Chikako had told him that Seiko had worked in a restaurant, and had to work really hard there. Why would she do that if she were from a wealthy family? He tilted his head in thought. Maybe she ran away from her family like Kai did? Hmm, he didn't think so. Kai had this edge in him, the way he dressed or the blue shark fins on his cheeks a starking mark of the dangerous way of life he lead before joining the Bladebreakers. Despite her intimidating atittude and sharp eyes, Seiko didn't seem to have the kind of temper their captain had, who looked like he would draw a switchblade from his pocket and throw it menacingly at the wall, dangerously close to the person who had threatened him in Max's imagination...

Good thing Max kept those thoughts to himself, or he'd be stared at and people would try to check his temperature, although he had the feeling from that other night when they raided the hotel that maybe if he confided in Ray about these images, he'd have his complete understanding. Besides, It was normal to have mental images. It meant creativity. It was a good sign.

...right?

When they finally reached the gym, they headed not for the place where they bey dishes were but to the large multi-sport place. Ray drew out his blade, but his motions were stopped by Kai.

"You're not going to need that yet," he said calmly, voice a monotone, but not leaving any space for doubt: that was an order.

Ray's black eyebrows arched up and he slipped the blade and his launcher in his back pocket again, tiger eyes curiously watching his team captain.

"I thought we came here to practice!" Tyson complained, angry that his sleep was going to waste and not because of some serious practice. For drama, he even yawned. ...or maybe he was really sleepy.

"You are going to practice, just not with your beyblade. Your resiliance needs work and you know it, if yesterday's jog is anything to go by."

Tyson's face turned red as he remembered the embarrassement it caused him to run around a court full of cheeky girls, and the fact that Kai was, once again, right - he had been pretty much dead when the ten laps had reached to an end. He had been totally out of breath, which was weird because he thought he would be in a better shape than that. Or maybe it was because he had been running so stiffly due to the sneers coming from the volleyball team that made him spend more energy.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Max asked, finger rubbing away the sleep from an eye.

"Spread your legs," at the weird glances Kai was getting, he rolled his eyes. Typical teenagers. "Move to an attack position, already," he grumbled and swept one foot aside, making it slide and Tyson slip and yelp on the smooth floor.

"Now bend your knees; lower; lift your heels from the floor. There." Kai ordered, making his team mates crouch in a foreign position. Ray had discovered Kai's intentions first, being used to that position in his training in martial arts. It was pretty close to the Karate's tiger position, only that instead of bracing himself with one foot forward and the other supporting the rest of his body weight at the back, he had his feet paralel to each other and separated by more or less the same distance between his shoulders. Max had a low gravity centre, which made him be at ease in that position, and although Tyson kept wobbling, after separating his feet a little bit in a wider stance, he was stable again.

Kai nodded and moved his teammates around so they'd all be facing the same position and wouldn't run into each other if they moved. He stood in front of them, facing them, and crossed his arms.

"In that position, you're going to do as I say." Tyson groaned and muttered a 'this can't be good' that was promptly ignored. "I'm going to point to a side and you're going to use side steps to head towards that direction without stretching your legs and changing your position. Understood?"

Ray blinked. He had seen that exercise before. He exchanged glances with Max and Tyson and they had the same quizzical look in their eyes. They probably noticed and were wondering the same thing.

"Understood?"

"Yes!"

"Very well then."

Kai used his finger to point to his right, and watched as they moved to their left, following the direction of his finger. He pointed to the left suddenly, and Tyson slipped and fell as he tried to change directions, Max and Ray continued, Max taking a while to recover and go into the opposite direction. Tyson stood up and tried to follow the rest.

Kai pointed ahead of him, and after a quiet second where most Bladebreakers were standing to figure out what that meant, they suddenly understood, and they moved back, earning a nod from their captain. Said captain was going to motion behind him with his thumb with the intention of ordering them to step forward when there was a loud BANG coming from the gym's door.

Everyone stopped and saw Chikako pushing a machine and a basket full of volleyballs into the gym. The bang was from the machine moving down a small step, and it was promptly followed by another, as all of the machine's wheels finally settled onto the gymnasium's floor. Chikako finally looked up, her friendly eyes gleaming curiously. "What the--? What are you doing here?"

In a normal circumstance, Tyson would've snapped back something like "we're dancing the can can and having a slumber party, wanna join us?", but this was Chikako. He actually liked the girl. She was calm, chipper and a breeze of fresh air next to her captain, Seiko.

"Doing the same thing you'd do."

The Bladebreakers turned around to face the origin of that voice. Kai had spoken. What? Max did a double take and he turned towards Chikako to watch her expression. An eyebrow had lifted, and her eyes roamed over their positions as a smirk danced on her full lips. Her honey eyes were curious as she made the math.

She stepped slowly until she reached beside Kai before leaving the basket and the machine next to Hilary and Kenny, who had been watching the practice eagerly by the wall and were now intrigued at Chikako's arrival. She looked over at the three boys in their positions, and then, with two fingers, motioned towards her left.

Ray and Max automatically nodded and followed the motion, stepping to their right and surprising Chikako. She glanced from the corner of her eye towards Kai.

"Ran out of original training methods and had to copy our own?" she muttered, thought her voice was carried across the gym with the easiness of practice. Clearly, Chikako was used to make herself heard in a large gymnasium like that and her voice was projected easily. After all, Max knew, Setters had to be mature and wise, since they had to point out the flaws in the reception and decide the strategy for the attack. In most teams, the Setter was usually the team captain since that position belonged to the mastermind of the team. Out of the three sequencial touches a team can make on their side of the court, the second had to belong to the setter, and therefore the setter was the one who decided who had a better attack, who could fool the adversaries, who was in a better shape and even make a surprise attack herself, all in order for their team's victory.

Kai, however, let out a 'hn' and closed his eyes. "Their resiliance needs improvement. This seemed appropriate."

Instead of snapping and complaining about their lack of originality, Chikako shrugged. Without any other word, Kai stepped forward and placed himself near Ray, crouching in the same position as his team mates.

The Setter's eyebrows shot up, but that didn't deter her. She pointed towards her right, then forward, then left, then behind her. The Bladebreakers followed her movements. She pointed forward, and they moved back, she pointed back again, and they moved forward, one side, the other. She let her finger stay in the same position for a while, causing the bladers to look slightly puzzled as they wondered if she had forgotten to change direction, but they kept moving, even though Max was almost reaching one of the walls when she finally switched positions and motioned them to the opposite direction, winning a groan from Tyson, since his moves had turned mechanic and it proved difficult to change them again.

Chikako pointed ahead of her, and then, suddenly, to the ground, the corner of her mouth curling just slightly. Kai understood the order and proceeded to do a roll on the ground, while the others stopped in bewilderment and watched him as they felt him move.

"Hey! That's not fair! We didn't learn that!" Max let out, a pout on his lips. Chikako grinned.

"Well, now you have!"

"Smartass," they heard Tyson mutter. The orange-haired girl heard it, the twitch on the corner of her mouth was a sign of that. She drew a remote from the pocket of her training suit pants and pressed a red button. The machine that was right beside Hilary beeped, and conveniently shot a volleyball at Tyson, who was just at the blank point angle. The blunette winced as the ball hit his shoulder. "What?" he dodged another volleyball, zooming past him at high speed. "Hey! What! Stop that!"

Chikako smiled sweetly, and turned the machine off. She grinned after seeing Hilary double on her stomach with laughter. Kenny, on the other hand was looking at the scene with shaky hands as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You know, I wonder if she's not scarier than Seiko," he said.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, to be honest," a voice let itself be heard from the door.

Kenny felt like putting a foot in his mouth and swallow at the squeak he let out and turned to acknowledge the owner of said voice. Not that it would be necessary, since they had been listening to it the last few days when they heard Seiko ordering her team around. Said Ronin was leaning against the doorframe, supporting her weight with her left shoulder as she observed them curiously by the corner of her eye, her narrow eyes glinting with something that neither Kenny nor Hilary could put their finger on. Near one of the corners of her mouth was a small dimple, the brunnette noticed. It was as if she was repressing a smirk, or wanted actually to smirk but didn't exactly know how to do it. Now she did realize what that gleam in her eyes meant: she was amused at Kenny's little shivering form, who seemed to want to bury himself on the wall he was leaning against as she approached them. Hilary scowled. She took pleasure into intimidating the others, didn't she? The nerve!

The tall captain suddenly stopped on her tracks and peered down, reached into the basket that Chikako had brought and drew a small plastic bag hidden between the balls. She frowned, and there was a sense of foreboding in that expression that Hilary certainly did not like when she opened the bag and read a small paper that had been inside.

Seiko muttered something under her breath, as if the words were disgusting to mention. Hillary perked up, suddenly alert at the wave of tension coming from the girl's body and she shifted slightly against the wall, wanting to put more distance between her. The dark-haired girl, however, wasn't going to step any closer to her as she clutched at the plastic bag, her knuckles blanching under the golden skin, and then spun on her heels to stalk towards the Bladebreakers. Hand wrapping around Chikako's wrist as she flicked her hand to motion towards the ceiling (which had caused Max to stop to try and realize what that meant and Tyson, thinking she meant they had to move forward again, to run into him and make both boys stumble, while Ray and Kai both jumped in the air, undestanding the order).

The orange-haired girl winced and let out a hiss, eyes wide as she tried to jerk away from the touch, a normal natural response due to the fright that Seiko caused her since she didn't hear her coming up next to her and was too entertained with making the bladers train.

"Ow! Sei, let go!" She squirmed, eyes wide as she surveyed her captain in an indignant tone. "That hurts!"

"Who the hell told you to use these med--" Seiko blurted out, and then stopped, feeling the curious eyes of the bladers on them. She let go of Chikako's wrist as if it burned to touch her and took two steps back, "Locker room. Now." Her eyes were guarded and her tone was dry. It was a direct order and Seiko would pretty much drag Chikako there if the Setter were to refuse. Said fiery-haired girl turned and stomped towards the infirmary's door as if she were an angry kid who had just been forbidden of eating their favorite cookies with a pout, althought there was a bewildered hint at the way she was inclining her eyebrows. Seiko calmly followed, but slammed her door angrily behind her as both volleyball players entered the room.

As for the Bladebreakers, they shared curious glances between them.

"What the hell just happened?" Tyson asked, intrigued. He made to tiptoe towards the door and try to listen through it, but Hilary yanked him by his ear.

"This is not our problem, Tyson, and you should know it! Don't be nosy!" the ruby-eyed girl scolded him as she dragged him back towards the front door of the gym. With their practice interrupted, and the scene that had unfolded in front of them, the will to practice wasn't exactly the same. They were heading over to the smaller room of the gym where the bey dishes were when Ray glanced over to Max, who was biting his lip aprehensively. He didn't blame him; Chikako was a likeable girl and it seemed like she was in trouble.

"Seiko mentioned meds," Kenny whispered, still nervous at the display of Seiko's temper flaring, once again. One could say that the boy should be used to women with strong personalities due to Hilary's temper, but in fact, an intimidating presence such as Seiko's was still a foreign concept for him. "Don't tell me that Chikako..." he let his voice drop, not exactly being able of saying aloud what was going through his head. However, if one were into sports, that wasn't exactly necessary to know what he meant. They didn't blame him. What Kenny was probably thinking wasn't a good thing.

"Shit," Tyson cursed. "She can't. She seems too much of a nice girl to actually resort to that... right?" he looked around, eyes landing on Kai, who had been quiet all the time. The Russian teen grunted. "You never know, Tyson," his deep voice was low and if the rest of the bladers weren't paying attention, they wouldn't have noticed that their captain had actually spoken. "Some people don't look over means to reach to an end. We don't know Chikako that much, but it's certain that she really wanted to be on the court as soon as possible."

"But resorting to dopping?" Ray shook his head, not yet capable of believing it. "She doesn't seem the type to do that! And you saw how Seiko and her got along. They trust each other!"

"Yeah, but look at the way Seiko reacted," Hilary quiped. "She was furious. It was like someone had broken her trust."

"Sorry, but I don't believe it."

"Huh? Max?" They all turned to face the blond teen. He had stopped on his tracks and had a determined crease between his eyebrows. "Yeah, Max, we're just speculating. But... what else could it be?" Kenny asked.

"I know one thing: this whole thing seems really fishy to me. And I know for sure that we shouldn't put the carriage in front of a horse if you want it to move forward, so don't talk about things you aren't even sure of."

"I think Max is right, guys. And he wins extra points for imagery." Dizzy finally replied from Chief's hands. Max smiled softly at the knowledge that he found an ally. And we all knew that Dizzy was actually pretty wise for a bitbeast stuck in a computer. At that, the Bladebreakers stood silent, and they decided to drop the subject, at least for a while.

* * *

**"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the BBA's 50th anniversary tournament! I'm DJ Jazzman and this is going to be one hell of a competition! We have not one, not two, but **_**three**_** all star teams facing against the world champions and BBA's representative, The Bladebreakers. Hahahah, I bet you weren't expecting that one, did you? Seems like our champions will give the association a big birthday gift if they win against them all."**

The crowd bubbled with excitement while awaiting for the teams to enter. Fans sported their idols favorite colors, painted their hair the same hair color, even tried to dress like them. The identity of the team members opposing the Bladebreakers was still a well-kept secret, but there was already a such a big betting business around who was going to be in the teams and who wasn't that it was almost an industry.

Mr. Dickenson watched the BBA's champions entering the pitch and smiled sympathetically. True to be told, he didn't want them to be left in dark like they had been, but this tournament was more of an advertisement deal than something relevant to the League, and the fact that they changed from one team to three was a last minute deal, due to the brilliant idea from someone in the marketing department of creating an amateur tournament so there would be a representant of the masses. Kind of a risky thing to throw an amateur in the middle of a tournament with so many stars, but the fact was that their tournament had been an extremely good idea for the association, not to mention it got the fans' approval.

Mr. Dickenson had been slightly worried, though. The last tournaments had been extremely dramatic and intense, so he made sure that there would be a team of professionals ready for any misshaps it might happen, even though this tournament was just an event to celebrate the association's birthday. Nevertheless, those boys were extremely competitive and proud of their achievements. They wouldn't let themselves lose just because it didn't change anything in the ranking. Mr. Dickenson knew that they would give their all, and he was just as sure of that when he heard the crowd roaring and hooting at their arrival, anxious and eager about watching a good show.

"Gah," Tyson protested while he waved at the enthusiastic fans. "I sure am upset about this. Three all star teams? _Three?! _Are they trying to kills us? It doesn't make any sense!"

"It's not the fans' fault, Tyson, so you should at least smile," Ray advised calmly as he looked around the stands to see if he could find some familiar faces. He had talked with Lee on the phone that morning and he had told him that he was in for a surprise. The blunette grumbled, but then after thinking about it, flashed his best smile at the audience. "Yo, Max, Chikako and some others are over there!" he pointed out, surprised.

Max smiled sheepishly. "I found Chikako at the hotel after lunch," he told them. "She was really looking down and I invited her to watch the tournament. See if I could cheer her up. I guess she invited the others as well," he took a good look at her companions. Yama and Kimi were making the people sitting behind them quite bothered because they had to peer over their shoulders to get a glimpse of the stage. Beside them, was Chikako, Shizuka, and two other girls that he didn't know but knew they were called Akako and Kin.

No sign of Seiko. Max's teeth clenched. He still believed in Chikako's innocence, and although he tried to prod something out of her at lunch, she wouldn't even say what happened, and if the setter was actually taking those meds or not. She just figured that this was something that was still unsettled, but the less people who knew about it, the better. When he calmly asked her, when he knew no one was listening, if she had resorted to dopping, her amber eyes had darkened.

_"I didn't," she had replied quietly, as if actually worried instead of upset. "But those meds were there for a reason."_

"She wouldn't be here even if things this morning were normal, Max," Kai pointed out calmly, interrupting his thoughts, as if he had guessed their matter.

"Yeah, Seiko and beyblade don't mix, remember?" Ray added.

Max nodded, though he was intrigued at the fact that it was Kai who had talked first and not Ray, who he expected he would. But then again, the blond thought, it was probably because both Kai and Seiko were team captains. How would Kai react if he suddenly found out that one of them had been taking meds to improve their performance on the dish? Obviously not well. Max understood Seiko's motives, and he wasn't a captain, either. It was no wonder that there was some sort of empathy between Kai and Seiko.

"I still wonder about that," Tyson thought. "Ronin apparently is known for her good sportsmanship -...sportswomanship?" He made a pause, and then shook his head and continued. "So even if she was resentful of beyblading taking away their fans and their source of payments, why does she show such repulsion towards the sport? It's not its fault, and it isn't because of us--"

**"--Introducing the All Star Team number one!"** The DJ interrupted, totally unaware of Tyson's musings. **"Take a good look at this, folks! It's not going to be easy to take these tigers down! And here they come! One, two, three, four!"**

**"That's right, DJ, the guests invited to form the first team are actually pretty tough bones to chew! Meet Foxy, Johnny, Mariam and Kane!"**

**"Yes, Brad, this team has a bit of everything! Speed is Foxy's middle name, he has been gaining a lot of duels with his new beyblade without even showing the presence of a bitbeast! As for Johnny, he has been practicing his strenght and has one hell of a stamina in the beydish. His longest match was 12 hours long! Sassy Mariam has a lot of attitude and takes a no-prisoners policy! I wouldn't like to duel against that babe! And their team captain, Kane, has shown to be a dangerous mastermind in the beydish! Their name for this tournament is the Starcrushers!"**

"Who wants to bet that it was Mariam who came up with that name?" Max asked at his team mates, then pretended to pout at the skeptical looks he got. "No one? Aw..." He grinned.

**"You're right, A.J. The Bladebreakers seem to have a tough way ahead of them and this is just the first team! And here's the second All Star Team in the building!"**

**"One, two, three, four! And what a team this is, look at the crowd, it's going wild!"**

**"Selima, King, Enrique and Tala! Oh, boy, what a show this is going to be, just imagine the possibilities this tournament can bring!"**

**"Oh, definitely, Jazzman. The BBA sure surpassed itself with this one. And you thought the Starcrushers were tough! Selima has shown signs of great creativity and is a bit of a spitfire in the dish! King sure has learned a lot since last time we saw him, and he's doing fine as a solo blader without Queen by his side! It has been a while since we last saw Enrique blading, but it sure looks like he learned with his mistakes and has a complete new type of attack! And Tala!"**

**"Look at that, the crowd is going to bring the stadium down!"**

**"That's enough to say. Tala Valkov **_**is**_** Tala Valkov, period. We rest our case. This team calls themselves Metal Armada. Things aren't looking good for the Bladebreakers!"**

**"That's because you have yet to see the third and last team. Brad, one, two, three, four! What do you think of **_**that**_**?"**

**"Mariah, Bryan, Ozuma and Whyatt! Oh, man, what a team."**

**"That's right, folks, this All Star team has a rookie! I'm sure you all knew about the amateur tournament where the champion would win an opportunity to play with the pros! And guess what! We found out that he had been the school mate of his favorite idol, Kai Hiwatari, and that he had been in a comma only recently! What a great recovery! I bet he's ecstatic about facing him in the stadium! Good luck, Whyatt, and enjoy your prize!"**

**"Good luck, Whyatt and congratulations! What I wouldn't give to be in that boy's place, A.J. The third All Stars team in this tournament just proves that despite the lack of influence it has in the world ranking, the BBA doesn't look over means to provide the fans a great show! Mariah and her determination and fierceness, Bryan with his strength and resiliance, Ozuma with his leadership skills and wisdom and Whyatt with his great enthusiasm and will power, they are called The Emperors!"**

The Bladebreakers stood silent as the All Star Teams finally revealed themselves. Each one of them were thrumming with excitement the fact that they're meeting people who they haven't seen in ages, and who were now their friends. Their hands were itching for grabbing their blades and launchers and start the tournament that was going to take them to the brink right away. However, while they were seeing each team parading around them and climbing onto their respective stage around their own, there was a sense of foreboding at the fact that each one of them will have to face each one of them. Starcrushers, Metal Armada and The Emperors... each member of each team seemed different from the last time they'd seen them. They were better, stronger, faster and ready to reach further. Kenny's hands were shaking. Hilary was gapping. Tyson was the one that suddenly blurted out what was going on in everyone's heads:

". . . Holy. We're in trouble."

* * *

Kai blinked slowly, not exactly believing his eyes. Whyatt was here? In a beyblade tournament, and in an All Star team, no less! He wasn't exactly sure how to react. To be proud, or to wonder if the amateur participants were five year olds? The Russian boy groaned, and nodded at Whyat as he climbed the stairs. He should be happy at his old classmate's recovery. He had been wallowing in guilt at the way he had suffered because of him. It was great that he was now there, healthy and ready for whatever he had to face. The brown-haired boy grinned enthusiastically when he spotted him, and Kai was suddenly reminded of the almost desperate way he kept bugging him to teach him how to beyblade. However, after what had happened before the last tournament, the Bladebreaker's captain did feel that this wasn't the same Whyatt, that he had improved a lot. He had heard that he had been doing a whole lot of progress as he moved up on the ranking, and even though there were glitches in his strategy on the dish, he did manage to learn from his mistakes, as he was able to avoid repeating the same errors. That was something to be commended on, not exactly being sckeptical about.

Then, in a glimpse of a moment, tt was as if the time went in slow motion, and Kai had to struggle not to give in to the urge of reaching behind his neck to scratch at the hairs on the back of his head that had suddenly stood on end. Instinct kicked in, and anxiousness bubbled up in his chest as he saw Whyatt's enthusiastic grin turn into a confident smirk. His eyes widened in recognition. Kai knew _then_ that his former classmate had done _a lot_ of progress. And that he had been waiting for the match of a lifetime against him. The Russian's eyes narrowed in acknowledgement, the adrenaline already pumping into his blood as he felt that this was going to be one hell of a competition.

_I'm waiting._

The connection was over just as quickly as it started, although the end of it was way less subtler than its ignition. Whyatt's smirk suddenly morphed into a perfect 'o' of surprise, eyes widening as he failed a step and fell forward. Kai's grey eyebrows arched, and he would've made to stop him from falling if he weren't from the fact that he was standing in another completely different stage, but as it were, the only thing he could do was stare as the brunette fell onto the stage.

"Shit!" He cursed, embarrassed as he tried to stand up, helped by Bryan, who had been right behind him, but, not being really keen on speed, was unable to do anything about it. Whyatt's cheeks were now red and he tried to laugh it off, but as he put one of his feet on the stagefloor, he winced and kneeled down. "God! It hurts!"

The bladers around him approached him, watching him carefully. Mariah, who was closer, told him to sit on the floor and let him take a look at it. Either by wisdom, trust or lack of pride, Whyatt let him, frowning at his foot, wincing when the pink-haired blader touched a sensitive spot on his ankle.

"It's a sprain," she told him, and in her cat-like eyes, you could clearly tell she was upset about this. Whyatt threw his head back and laid down on the floor, letting out a frustrated yell. "I can't believe this! I get to die on the beach, after all this work?!"

"Yo, calm down, lad," Johnny McGreggor said, who had jumped from his team's stage to promptly check if there was anything that needed to be done to help, and was now watching Whyatt's body tense up even more with the prospect of giving up when he was about to start and when he was all pumped up, the Scottish lilt in his voice becoming audible with his concern. "Y'r gon' hav'ta take it easy 'r it'll get wors'e."

"Argh!"

"Calm down, Whyatt," Kai barked, and the brown-haired boy suddenly stopped his antics, blinking at the upside-down figure of the Russian Bladbreaker as he loomed over his form on the floor, his feet near his head. With the lights above him, it was hard to tell the expression he was wearing, but Whyatt definitely knew that the sillouette belonged to him. He sighed softly, grateful: Kai had also jumped from his stage to take a look at Whyatt's injury. "Even if you can't make it in this one, we'll have our match other time. That's a promise." The Bladebreaker shifted and Whyatt could see that his gaze was softer than usual, understanding and patient. Whyatt nodded.

"Guess we're still not set up to duel, huh?" he snorted, chuckling low and tired, and then wincing at a certain probe of Mariah's fingers as she tried to see how bad the injury was.

"We'll have our turn," Kai answered, half hinting at a smirk.

"Uh..." DJ interjected as he took in the scene in front of him. He scratched his head, slipping the tips of his fingers under the badana he was wearing. "You know... this is kinda complicated. There's a player missing..." he turned to the VIP stands, where Mr. Dickenson and the rest of the representatives were discussing about the situation. After a while, he stood up.

"We'll assign another player from another team," Mr Dickenson said as he picked up a mic and talked to the people on the stage through the speakers. "There's no time to make another tournament all over again an--"

There had bee a murmur coming from the audience as it heard the President's answer. Tyson was quick to understand why.

"--NO!" he yelled, interrupting Mr. Dickenson's speach and surprising everyone around him. "Whyatt won his spot through a tournament to show that the BBA still remembered their fan's work and dedication. I say anyone can have a chance to participate in this tournament!"

Ray quickly nodded in agreement. "Tyson's right. If the BBA really cares about its fans, then it should allow once again to have one of them representing the masses!"

"Yeah, there should be another tournament!" Max added.

"It's only fair!" Whyatt pointed out. "There are a lot of other fans that are dying to have an opportunity like mine!"

Tala shrugged with a non-chalant gait, smirking lightly. "We're on holidays, so we can wait a while. There's time to get a new player," he said. Kai crossed his arms and nodded silently while the rest of the bladers agreed. From the stands there was a roar of approval, and Max could've sworn that he heard Kimi yelling "The Midget is right! Everyone should have a right to play!"

After a bit of fidgeting and some more debate with the other representants, under the enthusiastic roars of "Beyblade for the people!" 's "Whyatt rules!" 's, "Marry me, Mariam/Mariah!" 's (and one "Marry me, Ray" or two) and "Beyblade for all!" 's, Mr. Dickenson picked up the microphone again and cleared his throat (how very suspense inducing, Ray thought) before announcing the veredict.

"This tournament will be postponed," he said. "There will be another amateur tournament in five days. More data about its organization and subscriptions will be announced shortly. We'll return to this tournament after filling Whyatt's spot with the winner."

The crowd stood up, yelling at their victory and celebrating the fact that the fans' thoughts did matter to the association that made their hobbies and passions possible. Even the girls from the volleyball team cheered, Tyson noticed, as they high-fived each other, and Chikako suddenly forgot about her worries, if only for a little while.

* * *

When The Bladebreakers finally returned from hanging around with old friends after the tournament anouncement, they were surprised to find Seiko in a rather out of character position: In the lobby, where a bunch of couches were scattered around the large room, positioned in small triangles to surround other small coffee tables. In the corner of the large room, as if not wanting to draw any attention to them, was Seiko's mother, focused on some complicated embroidery on her hands, and beside her, Seiko, lounging on a smaller couch with her legs stretched and crossed at the ankles, resting her feet on the small coffee table in front of her (Tyson grumbled; the hotel clerk had told him to take his feet out of the table when he had been doing the same thing. Clearly the hotel staff had decided on their favorites), fingers twined over her stomach and the cap she was wearing with the lid tilted down, covering her features. Beside Ray, Kimi snickered:

"Yo, Ya', Sei is pulling a mariachi again," she said, for the bladers amusement. Chikako, however, was suddenly reminded of what had happened that morning and although she tried to smile, her expression darkened.

Yama grinned. "Leave her alone, Kim, I'm sure she has a lot to think about. Let her have some quality time with her fam-oouf!"

A blur of black and green had suddenly zoomed from the hotel's inner garden to go straight against Yama. The poster girl of the volleyball team was suddenly tackled by a little girl, who had her little arms around her legs and was laughing immensely in a shrill little voice. "Yamaaa! Yamaaa!"

The blonde looked down, flailing her arms so she wouldn't fall at the sudden leglock she was found in, but after blinking in a rather oblivious way, her soft-feautured face opened with a bright smile. "What's this?" she teased and tugged the little girl up and to her lap. The little girl giggled and wrapped her arms and legs around the volleyball player, and Yama kissed her cheek. "Hey, everyone, look what I found, a koala!"

The little girl's eyes gleamed merrily, large, dark emerald green that made her look like a pixie rather than a human. "I'm not a koala! I'm Michiyo!" she laughed. Chikako stepped closer and leaned in, taking a good look at the child eyes open wide as she faked curiosity.

"Michiyo?" She said, then tapped the little girl's nose, causing her to giggle more and scrunch up her face. "I see Michiyo's nose," she kissed between her brows, "I see Michiyo's eyes," she reached up to tickle her ears, earning a little squeal "I see Michiyo's ears," and then picked up at the little braid she was wearing and pretended she was lifting a pair of glasses from her nose as she took a closer look, "and I see Michiyo's hair! Silly, Yama, that's not a koala, that's Michiyo!"

Yama faked an expression of surprise. "Oh! Silly me!" The little girl leaned into her to give her a tight hug, laughing, and the two volleyball players exchanged grins when the little girl wasn't looking. "Silly Yama! There, there, it's okay." Michiyo said, extremely convinced that she had been mistaken by a koala.

"So we found one Spike," Kimi said, ruffling Michiyo's hair after she had leaned away from Yama and streched her arms to Chikako so the setter would gather her in her arms instead ("Chiki, Chiki!"), "Where's the other?" she wondered, looking around her. The second setter, Shizuka, went over to the automatic doors that led towards the gardens to take a look inside. "He isn't here," she announced, shrugging.

"He's over there!" Hilary suddenly noticed, pointing at a small figure that was crouching behind one of the couches, near Seiko and her mother. They could see the grin in Ran's lips as he shifted against the back of the couch, mischievous as only a prankster would be. The large launcher in his hand reflected the lobby's lighting with a metalic glint...

Suddenly alarm bells were ringing inside Ray's head, and he looked around to see if anyone had the same feeling as him. Other than Kai, who had frowned and was completely alert at the sight of Seiko's brother, the others were just watching the little boy curiously. Ray knew that Ran was up to no good--

--when he suddenly leaped out of his hiding place and launched his beyblade towards his older sister. "Let it rip!" he yelled.

"Oh, shi-" Tyson yelped. Never wake up a sleeping dragon, he always heard, and even though this was said dragon's younger brother, it was never, ever, a good thing to do, no matter how good or funny the intentions might be. The beyblade was whirling madly towards Seiko's tense, sleeping form at an incredible speed, and the Bladebreakers all moved to draw their own blades from their pockets, only to remember that they had left them at the BBA for inspection. So all they could do was watch the incoming earthquake after the beyblade hit its target, like a train crash that you couldn't avert your gaze from.

"SMACK!"

* * *

The witnesses to the scene had their eyes wide like plates. Ran's beyblade had in fact hit Seiko, and she was now glaring at her little brother with a cold fire that would make people shiver. The Japanese Libero had actually been awake, and she had tensed up when she heard the kid yelling as he launched the blade. With a fluidity of movement that the Bladebreakers had never seen in Seiko, she folded her legs and slid of her seat, kneeling in front of it and quickly stretching her arm forward, palm turned outwards to stop the blade from hitting her. The blade hit her hand face first, and spun pretty quickly against her hand while she stared at Ran with an unimpressed gaze.

"Whoa," let out Tyson, impressed at the speed of her movements.

"Unsurprising," said a thick accented voice behind them, and they turned to find Erika Ivanova and Tamara Diachenko standing right in front of the spinning door of the hotel, hands stuffed in their pockets of their similar white and red training suits. "That's the Japanese Libero for you, after all." Said the little libero with a bored lilt on her words.

Chikako frowned at them. "What are you doin--"

"--Ouch."

She got interrupted by the loud beeping of the spinning doors suddenly stopping, the computers in the reception suddenly getting turned off, for the panic of the clerks and receptionists, the televisions scattered here and there transmitting nothing but static, the automatic doors opening and closing suddenly once again and the elevators halting to a stop. The bladers and the rest of the volleyball players stood bewildered as they watched their surroundings, the air even gaining a certain tension about it.

In the meanwhile, oblivious to everything or even just using the chance to try and escape from a scolding, Ran tiptoed around a couch and was about to make a dash for the door when he suddenly found himself being hoisted by the back of his shirt. "Not so fast, brat!" Kimi said as she lifted him up easily, not really bothered with the little boy's squirms and complaints. "You're going to have a talk with your sister first!"

Now certainly oblivious to the sudden lack of electronic abilities around them were Seiko and her mother, who had kneeled next to her daughter and was carefully wrapping a tissue around Seiko's hands, the white garment turning red...

...wait, red?

"Is everything okay?" The bladers and volleyball players got closer to the Japanese captain, Kimi dragging a sulking Ran across the floor with her, when they noticed that Seiko had injured herself.

"Stupid blade got stuck," Seiko snapped, but her team mates, knowing her temper, didn't even flinch. The same couldn't be said about the Bladebreakers, who sent a pair of glares. How ungrateful of her, they were worried! "Sh--" she began to curse, but after noticing her mother's pointed look at her brother and sister, she stopped in time. "--heck..." she said weakly, rolling her eyes. Hilary had to bite her thumb so she wouldn't laugh. So the almighty Seiko Tachibana was nothing but an obedient puppy when it came to her mother? This was definitely interesting.

"Shrek?" Michiyo asked, moving between the teenagers' legs and looking up curiously, and Chikako suddenly panicked and grabbed her little hand.

"Yes, Shrek! Shrek was on the TV but look, there's only ants in the screen now!" The setter pulled her gently away so she would take a look at the TV screen and distract Michiyo from her injured sister. ("Oooh, so many ants!", "Let's count them!" "Silly, they're too many!" "Doesn't hurt to try!" "Okay!") She didn't want her to be scared. Seiko, who had been attentive to their interaction, nodded in gratitude once she caught Chikako's gaze. It was nice to know that they still cared about each other even though things that morning were rocky.

"Will you please stop worrying about the others and focus on yourself?!" Seiko's mother scolded her, making The Ronin look sharply at her, narrow eyes widened with surprise. "You're injured!"

"...It's nothing," Seiko grumbled, unwrapping the handkerchief around her hand to take a good look.

Upon a closer look, it was noticeable what Seiko's injury wasn't just "nothing". It was also pretty evident how she came to injure herself, Ray reckoned, when he noticed the outline of the blade.

"That attack ring..."

"Yeah..."

Thing was, when the blade had been whirling on Seiko's hand, she had her fingers stretched out, making the blade's movement constant. She obviously had wanted the blade to stop twisting in her hand, and wrapped her fingers around the blade. However, since Ran's beyblade was still in plain movement, the sharp spikes of its attack ring stabbed Seiko's fingers and had their tips stuck in the flesh, blood slowly oozing from the wounds. Ray winced. He had almost won a papercut from the outline the blade made in the hotel wall. With an attack ring as sharp as that, that had to be extremely painful. But if Seiko wasn't feeling any pain or if she was just pretending so she wouldn't worry her team mates, Ray didn't know. All he knew was that it didn't look good.

Seiko's free hand closed around the blade, as if to take the blade away from the wounds, but a firm grasp wrapped around her wrist before she could tug.

"Are you crazy?" Erika barked, anger and surprise making her accent highlight and making her drag her 'r''s, her ice blue eyes fixed on Seiko's violet ones. "You don't know if that didn't injure any arteries; it might make it worse! Go to the hospital to get that fixed!"

"Yah," Tamara nodded, chin tilted back as if wanting to dare Seiko into doing it. "Unless you don't actually want to play against Brazil to then get to us..." she let the meaning of her words unspoken, but it got the reaction necessary.

Seiko glared at the little Russian libero. "You're not going to steal the title of best defender once again, Diachenko," she muttered, voice low. "Kimi," she called, and the black-haired girl answered with a 'yo'. "Give Ran to my mother, and call me an ambulance, please."

The outside hitter nodded and pushed Ran, who had been watching with concern at Seiko's injury, towards his mother, and then ran towards the reception to follow her captain's order. The child, finally realizing he was going to be reprimanded for his prank, whinned, but Seiko reached out with her free hand and ruffled his spiky hair. "It's nothing, Spike. I know you didn't mean it."

"But! You're injured!" The kid whinned, obviously concerned about his older sister. Seiko smiled softly and tugged him close for a one-armed hug.

"It's nothing, Spike," she told him, and the frowned when the kid tightened his hold on his sister.

"It's my fault," the boy muttered, and Seiko sighed, with an expression that clearly signalized her heart melting.

"Oy... don't be like that, come on, look at me," she told him, nudging him slowly away to take a look at her brother's face, then cleaning a stray tear from the boy's cheek. "It's not your fault. Don't cry..."

"I'm not crying," Ran replied, pouting and glaring at his sister with watery eyes. "Big boys don't cry."

Seiko smiled and kissed his forehead. "Nope. Now you take care of mom when I'm away, alright?"

Ran nodded, determined. "Count on me," he said, after giving one big sniff and wiping the water from the corner of his eyes. Seiko smirked.

"That's my Spike," she told him, and then stood up, but not before giving her little brother another hug. Ran, smiling, went to his mother and took her hand, as if following Seiko's orders and making sure her mother was safe and well. The captain smiled softly, and then walked towards the reception, bladers and volleyball players following her, all of them worried and curious about the Ronin's injury.

Kimi, who had been by the reception since a while ago, let out a frustrated groan and whirled on her heels to complain at the rest of her team mates. "This idiot here," she pointed at the receptionist, who was looking kind of helpless at the black-haired girl's anger, "says that he can't make a stupid phone call to an ambulance. All the phone lines here are dead!"

"What?" Kenny exclaimed, fingers reaching to pick up his glasses and shift them on the bridge of his nose for comfort. "Why are they dead?"

"All electronic devices went down just now," the receptionist explained, clearly not knowing what to do. "The phone lines are down, there's no electricity in the whole building, and the walkie-talkies and satelites only give us static."

Kai's slate eyebrow raised, but he said nothing, even as he glanced at the blade stuck in Seiko's hand. _This is interesting._

"And there's no ground line around here?" Kenny shifted to open his laptop, only to find that it wouldn't turn on. "Huh?! Dizzy?! Are you there?!"

"I heard about something like this once," Ray said, tilting his head. "Electromagnetic-pulse?"

Seiko snorted. "What, and we were just plugged out of the Matrix or the _squidie's _would get our craft?" Ray rolled his eyes at that, and at Kimi's 'oooh, burn!'. Kenny's gapped at that. Seiko liked sci-fi?

"But Ray might be right," Kenny said, his knowledge on technology an ace on the sleeve of his shy demeanour. "If all the electricity around here is out for no apparent reason, an electromagnetic-pulse seems a good explanation."

"Yeah, but where would it come from? There's no device that would do such a thing nearby," Seiko asked, and Kimi blinked.

"How do you know about this electro-thingy, Sei?" she blurted out, purple eyes curious.

"I study enginneering, remember?" Seiko didn't skip a beat answering. ("See, Ya? I told'ya she wanted to be something ending with an 'er' " "Well, duh, considering the number of professions that end with those leters, Kim...") The captain sighed resolutely, and after taking a look around to see if her mother and her brother and sister were out of hearing range, she cursed. "Fucking hell, this thing hurts like a bitch. I'm going to get a cab--" she made to stride towards the door, where she knew there would be a bunch of taxis waiting, when suddenly a man entered the room and headed towards the reception.

"You don't happen to have a battery charger around here, do you?" he asked, looking puzzled at the fate of his cars. "Me and my colleagues can't get our taxis to work and we think it's something to do with the batteries."

Seiko and the rest groaned. "Batteries. Electricity. Great." After a while, the japanese captain finally turned to the receptionist. "I don't suppose there's a rent-a-car shop around here, do you?"

The receptionist blinked. "Uh... yeah, we have our own. And the garage is just a block away," he answered. Seiko's eyes finally glimmered and she nodded. "That should be far enough from the source of the pulse. Alright, write down on a paper two things: First, that you're allowing Seiko Tachibana to request a car for an emergency situation, with your signature and the hotel's stamp. Second, that you need to add the value for the car rental in my tab--"

"--Oh, no, Miss Tachibana. That's on the house. We want you to be healed for your tournament, after all, and this is mostly unfortunate. We'll help in whatever means." The receptionist nodded enthusiastically.

"Che," Tyson muttered, looking away. Seriously, that receptionist was starting to get on his nerves for all the boot-licking he was doing at Seiko.

Seiko, however, looked surprised at the way the receptionist was behaving. "W-well... in that case, t-thanks," she stuttered, a very un-Seiko like move, Hillary thought. The brunette frowned, taking in her expression. So Seiko was used to give out orders and people follow, but she wasn't exactly used to getting people _wanting_ to do things for her?

"Seiko Tachibana!"

The captain winced, -making Hilary stiffle a giggle again, and taking a look at her team-mates, they were just as amused - sighed, and turned around to face at her mother on a rampage. "Yes, mother?" The middle-aged woman got near of her daughter and tapped her foot on the floor.

"Don't be ridiculous. Driving a car! You don't have a license!"

"But mom--"

"--no buts! No daughter of mine is going to be a law-breaker!"

"It's an emergency!"

"I don't care! Walk if you need to! You wouldn't even been able to drive with that hand of yours!"

Seiko looked at her hand and glared at the blade as if it were it's fault she was in such a predicament. "...point," she avowed, then looked up at the people around her. "None of you knows how to drive and have a license, do you?"

The volleyball players and the bladers shrugged, looking sheepish. Seiko groaned once again. "Great. I just better take this thing off myself--" she made to tug the blade from her hand once again, only to be stopped at a colective "NO!" and a lot of hands gripping her hands, arms and shoulders. "Fine, fine, I get the picture! It's just stupid to have this thing in my hand."

"You know, Sei, for someone who always said that you and beyblading don't mix, I say you just did," Kimi attempted at humour to distract her.

"Do you want to die, Kim?" Chikako asked the black-haired girl once she saw the glare from their captain's narrow eyes.

"No."

"Then I suggest you--"

"--I do know how to drive, Mrs. Tachibana."

"Huh?" the three women - yes, women, Hillary looked as well, even though she was unrelated to the other two; it was just weird to hear her surname with a "Mrs." before it. It reminded her of her mother - looked at the person who had spoken, not exactly recognizing it.

"What? Do you have a license, Kai?" Tyson asked his captain, incredulous. He didn't know Kai knew how to drive, much less actually have a license. Seiko frowned.

"Aren't you a bit _young_ to have a driver's license?" she said, dark eyebrow arching galantly. Kai just smirked and drew his license out of his pocket.

"I'm just special," he said, provoking a scowl from Seiko. He ignored it and turned to the receptionist. "Did you write and stamp the request?"

The receptionist nodded and leaned over the counter, almost lying on top of it to stretch himself and give the paper to Kai. Kai took it, and with a courtesy nod to Seiko's mother, and ignoring Seiko herself as he passed by them, he headed towards the exit. "Let's go." He said.

Seiko was gapping like a fish at the boy's retreating figure. "What?"

"Now, now, Seiko. The nice boy is doing you a favour and is helping you out. Don't let him wait," her mother tsk'ed.

Seiko let out a frustrated sound, and stomped out of the hotel. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

Tyson's grin was evil: "Oh, this is going to be sweet," he said as they all followed after Seiko and Kai.


End file.
